Total Drama: United States
by TurnipTheBeets
Summary: Chris McLean is taking Total Drama across the border. 24 teens are traveling in RVs across the United States competing in challenges all for the hopes of fame, fortune, and maybe making some friends along the way? Who knows! Join in to find out! (SYOC CLOSED, 21/24 REMAIN)
1. Introduction

The light pitter-patter of rain against the roof of the Tim Hortons gave mental images of sleepy Sundays, cups of coffee, and the smell of a fire emitting from a fireplace. It was a day where many people retreated into their linens to spend a day with their thoughts, and only those who wished to battle the elements of Mother Nature met the sensation of raindrops against their skin.

As Deborah Brown, a TV executive for an American channel, entered the Tim Hortons, her green eyes were peered for a familiar face, and her lips pursed in an amalgamation of annoyance, despair, and happiness as she found her target; a man, a large jacket shielding his frame, and a baseball cap shielding his hair.

"Typical." She murmured, shaking off rain jacket for stray raindrops, before she meandered through the sparsely populated coffee shop to sit down across from the man, her arms folding over her chest. "You know, I could have rented out a conference room in the hotel I'm staying at." She informed the man, perking her brows as she took in his appearance. "What are you wearing? You look like an undercover cop."

The man lifted his head hesitantly, rolling his eyes at the woman's disrespect to his attire. Hastily, he removed his baseball cap, moving his hand through his shaggy black hair. The man was no other than Chris McLean of _Total Drama_ infamy.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that? This feels more dramatic!" Chris' hands moved to his sides in a jazz-hand formation, a broad smile on his face that was not reciprocated by Deborah. She huffed, looking to her watch. "You have five minutes. What do you want, McLean? You have been barred by nearly every major executive in Canada. Why should I trust you?"

Chris saw that his usual wit and charisma wouldn't work on her and dropped his smile. "Listen, I've been pitching this idea to nearly everyone in Canada. No one's biting! That's why I've decided to cross into red, white, and blue waters and try it there. _Total Drama_ was a raving success with American audiences!"

Deborah couldn't deny the show's appeal. Even in its messiest moments, people still tuned in. "No one's biting because of your..." She tried her best to maintain her professionalism, biting the inside of her cheek to block herself from saying anything too venomous. "Less than favorable reputation." She decided. "But, what's the pitch?"

Chris held up a finger, reaching into the briefcase that had placed beside him. After a few moments of shuffling, during which Deborah counted each second, Chris pulled out a map of the United States, placing it onto the table. There, Chris had drawn paths across the mainland, designating what appeared to be challenges in each state. "24 contestants, we travel across the country by RVs and we do challenges. It's the same format, just a different scope."

Deborah couldn't help but to be impressed as she quixotically took note of the meticulous detail of the map. "I'm not sure...It just seems like a lot. I can see the planning that's gone into this." She tapped her red, acrylic nails against the table. "McLean, why should I trust you?" She seriously inquired, peering into his eyes.

Chris was taken aback by the severity of the question. Why had she spoken like she was really considering it? He never thought he would even get this far. He realized, in that moment, this wasn't merely a pitch for his show, but a pitch for his own character.

"Look," he began, trying to fish for the most articulate and eloquent words to put his tangent together. "TV is lacking. Shows are coming to an end, and new ones are lackluster to say the least. We live in a society where the demand for nostalgia content is high. So many people grew up with my," he framed his jawline with his hands, "well-quaffed face on their TV screens. Your ratings will be substantial, and we can work together to try and get the best 24 teens we can."

Deborah was at cross-roads; on one hand, Chris McLean was notorious for being a sleazy slime ball who loved looking at himself in a mirror more than ethical law. On the other hand, she had to account for the business side of things. A new _Total Drama_ would bring in new-watchers, as well as old fans of the show.

She was silent for several seconds, and Chris had started her job of counting the seconds. The music playing quietly in the background seemed to grow louder.

Finally, Deborah sighed, removing a notepad and her cellphone from her pocket. "Do you have a passport?"

_**Oh shit, here we go again.**_

_**I am making another SYOC! I got really inspired recently, and I am going to give this another shot.**_

_**Submit your OCs below, you can submit up to two; one boy, one girl. Get creative! I love reading and making OCs! Make them complex. Give me their fears, flaws, hopes, dreams. I would love to see it all!**_

_**If you need me to PM you the app, let me know 🙂.**_

**Name (Full name):**

**Nickname (If any):**

**Age (16-18):**

**Gender:**

**Sexuality:**

**Trope/stereotype:**

**Personality (Detailed):**

**Strengths:**

**Weaknesses:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Fears:**

**Skills (Lacking and strengths. Your character cannot be good at everything):**

**Talents (Musical, bilingual, etc.):**

**Backstory (Detailed):**

**Height:**

**Weight:**

**Ethnicity:**

**Build:**

**Eye color/shape:**

**Hair color/style:**

**Any distinguishable features (Piercings, tattoos, birthmarks, etc.):**

**Normal attire:**

**Swim attire:**

**Sleep attire:**

**Formal attire:**

**Strategy to win:**

**Intentions with winnings:**

**People they would befriend:**

**People they would make an enemy:**

**Do they want a romantic relationship:**

**If so, with who:**

**Audition (Creativity):**

_**Thanks everyone!**_


	2. Application Example

_**You guys had no right to snap this hard.**_

_**I'm in the middle of finals, and I wasn't expecting much from doing this, but I opened my account to over 30 messages. That's INCREDIBLE! Thank you so much! I will start cycling through those messages and responding accordingly.**_

_**For now, though, I want to give an example for the quality that I am looking for within your applications with my own OC that I am submitting. If you wish to make an edit to your application to make it more detailed, feel free!**_

_**Finally, if your OC doesn't make it in, don't be discouraged. I would still love your support on this story through reviews.**_

**Name:** Bea O'Malley (Pronounced Bae-A)

**Nickname (If any):** B, Baby B, Shorty

**Age (16-18):** 17

**Gender:** Cis-female, she/her pronouns

**Sexuality:** Heterosexual

**Trope/stereotype:** The Idealistic Mediator

**Personality (Detailed):** Bea has an inborn sense of idealism and morality, but unlike many people, she is not an idle dreamer. She can take concrete steps to realize her goals and make a long-lasting impact. She has a unique combination of traits: though she is soft-spoken, she has strong opinions and will fight tirelessly for what she believes in. She is decisive and strong-willed, but she will rarely use that energy for personal gain- Bea will act with creativity, imagination, conviction, and sensitivity, not to create advantage, but to create balance. Bea's belief in the world is simple, yet idyllic; love and compassion will soften the hearts of even the most rueful tyrants. She has a talent for communicating with warm and sensitive language, rather than logic and fact. In rhetorical terms, her words have an appeal to pathos, more so than logos or ethos. Despite her rather alluring outward appearance, Bea is the type to need time to recharge after a long day. Bea takes great care of other people's feelings, and she expects the favor to be returned- sometimes this means giving her space for a couple of days. Bea must remember to take care of herself. Her passion for her convictions has the possibility to push her past her breaking point, and if her zeal gets out of hand, she can become exhausted, unhealthy, and stressed. This becomes apparent when she finds herself against conflict and criticism- her sensitivity forces her to do everything she can to evade seemingly personal attacks, but when the circumstances are unavoidable, she can fight back in highly irrational, unhelpful ways. To Bea, the world is a place of inequity- but it doesn't have to be. No other person is suited to create a movement to right a wrong, no matter how big or small. Bea just needs to remember that when she is taking care of the world, she needs to take care of herself, too.

**Her strengths are as follows:**

Creative

Insightful

Inspiring and Convincing

Decisive

Determined and Passionate

Altruistic

**Her weaknesses are as follows:**

Sensitive

Extremely Private

Perfectionistic

Always Needs to Have a Cause

Can Burn Out Easily

Bea's imagination and empathy makes her someone who not only cherishes her integrity and deeply held principles, but, unlike many idealistic types, is also capable of turning those ideas into action. Yet Bea can easily get tripped up in areas where her idealism and determination are more of a liability than an asset. Whether it is navigating interpersonal conflicts, confronting unpleasant facts, pursuing self-realization, or finding a career path that aligns well with her inner core, Bea may face multiple challenges that can make her even question who she really is.

**Strengths:** See above!

**Weaknesses:** See above!

**Likes:** Dancing, making friends, helping people out, volunteering, puppies, animals in general, hugs, eating, fireworks, the beach, cracking jokes, soft rain, small animals, libraries, the smell of old books, watching Vine compilations, studying, writing, reading, classical music, coffee, big sweaters, the snow, Harry Potter.

**Dislikes:** Confrontation, public speaking, thunderstorms, hot temperatures, loud music, peer pressure, essay writing, heights.

**Fears:** Bea has a definite fear of cockroaches, which is ironic since she lives in New York City and it is crawling with roaches. She usually makes someone else kill them, however her dads have made her start killing them to try and curb the fear.

**Skills (Lacking and strengths. Your character cannot be good at everything):** Her strengths are in her athleticism. Being a dancer, she is flexible and has a strong sense of endurance. She is a moderately good cook, when given the time and resources. However, her weaknesses fall within very self-reflective activities, such as escape rooms and public speaking. She can often take things too personally, so when something falls on her shoulders, she inherently blames herself for it, no matter her involvement.

**Talents (Musical, bilingual, etc.)**: Dancing, bilingual (English and Spanish), communication with small groups.

**Backstory (Detailed):** Bea doesn't remember much from her life in Ireland. She was born with the intent of being given up for adoption to two men from America, one of which grew up in Dublin. Her two dads spoiled her rotten when she was taken back to New York City, putting her in dance classes, the best private school, and opportunities galore. One of her fathers, Jorge, decided to teach Bea Spanish, given the fact that his roots were in Puerto Rico, and so she could have an expanded cultural background. Her other father, Aiden, was adamant that Bea become the best person she possibly could be. He was a frequent attendee of her dance recitals, and school talent shows. When kids began to bully Bea for her height and shyness, Aiden was the one to attend parent-teacher conferences. Though school wasn't Bea's most comforting place, she felt the most herself when she danced. She faced challenges being 4'11" and a ballerina, so she worked twice as hard to make up her lack of height. She loved escaping into a character whenever she danced and feeling the emotions of the music and dance as if they were her own. At dance competitions, she always placed high, due to the performances she gave. As Bea grew up, she fell deeper and deeper in love with her city. She loved the subway, Broadway shows, and hot-dog carts. She decided that she wished to attend college in the city, more specifically at New York University. Though their dance program was rigorous, she knew she had a chance. Bea decided to become more involved in high school, joining volunteer-based clubs, studying harder, and taking more time to make herself a face on her campus. She knew she needed to boost her GPA and her extracurriculars if she even had a chance of making it into NYU. Now, she hopes that joining Total Drama will give her the opportunity of growing more, and hopefully win some money for college funds.

**Height:** 4'11"

**Weight:** 110 pounds

**Ethnicity:** Mixed (Filipino and Irish, look up Christina Nadin to see who I based her around)

**Build:** She has a child-like build, with svelte muscles around her abdomen and legs due to her background in dance. She has a strong sense of balance due to this and can handle endurance well.

**Eye color/shape:** Almond shaped eyes that are hazel in color. In some lights, they appear brown, and others, they appear dark green.

**Hair color/style:** Her hair is black in hue, cascading down to the middle of her shoulder blades. She usually keeps it down, or sometimes, she puts it in a ponytail or a bun.

**Any distinguishable features (Piercings, tattoos, birthmarks, etc.):** She has her ears pierced, and freckles dotted all along her body.

**Normal attire:** Bea wears a pair of high-waisted "Mom jeans" of a light denim wash, as well as white Air Force Ones, and a white t-shirt with sunflowers on it tucked into the jeans with a black belt.

**Swim attire:** Bea wears a simple black bikini.

**Sleep attire:** A long-sleeve, purple NYU shirt that looks more like a dress on Bea, and black Nike pros.

**Formal attire:** Bea wears a pastel pink dress, hugging her svelte frame as cascading to around mid-thigh. It has a scooped neckline with short sleeves and an open back. She pairs this with a pair of white heels.

**Strategy to win:** Bea's strategy is to be herself. She doesn't think she has a mean bone in her body, so being manipulative wouldn't work for her. She hopes to make friends along the way that'll help her bring her to the end.

**Intentions with winnings:** College funds, and maybe even a new cat!

**People they would befriend:** Bea finds it easier to make friends than enemies. Call it naivety, but she'll make friends with about anyone willing to be her friend.

**People they would make an enemy:** Bea doesn't make enemies easily, so she'll only make enemies if they bully her or her friends.

**Do they want a romantic relationship?:** Yes!

**If so, with who:** I like the idea of opposites attract, so I would like to pair Bea with someone who is the complete opposite of her. Someone bold, brash, and unapologetic. Think Hyde from "That 70s Show" as an example.

**Audition tape:** The camera opened to Bea standing in the middle of a dance studio, wearing a leotard, tutu, and her pointe shoes. "H-Hello, Total Drama! I know you want to hear a lot about me, s-so I will get to the," she suddenly stood on the toes of her pointe shoes. "Pointe! G-Get it? These are pointe shoes.." She chuckled at her own joke, clearing her throat and regaining her composure. "I-I am kind to others, and I LOVE getting to know people. I would love to be on your s-show so I can prove to the world that even though I am small, I can do big things!" She pumped her fist in the air, smiling brightly. "Anyways, thank you for listening. I really appreciate it!" She began to walk toward the camera, when suddenly she looked just past it to see someone enter. "No!" She ran forward, just as a male in similar dance clothes came forward and picked her up, physically lifting her off the ground. "I'm Bea," He imitated, trying to mimic her soft, New York twang. "And I'm so adorable." Bea kicked her legs in the air, appearing much like a puppy who didn't want to be thrusted into the air. "I will heck you up, Conrad!" She threatened, throwing her small fists in the air, when the camera then went to black.


	3. TDUS: Cast List 1

**GIRLS**

1: Bea O'Malley- The Idealistic Mediator (Mine)

2: Miriam Hakimi- The Fiery Dancer (Nikolai777)

3: Mirabelle Bliss- The Wicked Girl with a Big Mouth (Waking Bad)

4: Kaisa- The Sarcastic Punk (CocoKisses TMNT)

5: Tonia Lockhart- The Youtube Blogger (Loralee13)

6: Pracilla Hawkins- The Total Package (DrArRy LuSt)

7: Anna-Jane Rosenburg- The Socially Awkward Writer/Journalist (xXKuroCat-Nanami)

8: Brianna Hanami- The Misunderstood Idol (Singer97)

9: Meredith White- The Curious Historian (Obsidian Champion)

10: Sophie Georgina Aventino- The Not-So-Delicate Doll (Skyn1nja123)

11: Maisie Campbell- The Tough Cookie (LunaMoonMyDreamer)

12:

**BOYS**

1: Alex Oracion Jr.- The Pianist with a Strong Appeal (Candela Monsoon)

2: Andrew James Hanson- The Lounge Singer (Skyn1nja123)

3: Tom Quinn Nguyen- The Scheming Writer (t20n00)

4: Mitch Myers- The Horror Fan (Zoryan El Muerto)

5: Daryl Thompson- The Vegan Stoner Dude (ANGELnDEVIL)

6: Hayato Mutsumi- The Pretty Boy Tsundere (Singer97)

7: Kurt "Bubba" Kingston- The Big Guy (Marie372)

8: Reggie Billings- The Mellow Jock (Pink Punk Princess 27)

9: Ash Healy- The Funny Guy (pkfirespammer)

10: Cohen Coaster- The Master of Slackers (XxxInquisitorXxx)

11: Kahlin Mora- The Laid Back Observer (Nikolai777)

12:


	4. TDUS: Final Cast

With a huff and a melodramatic flip of his hair, Chris McLean, surrounded by an eddy of executives and interns, leaned back within his brown leather office chair, transfixing his gaze to the fluorescent light dangling from a glass fixture above his head. "Finally." She murmured, drawing his palms lazily across his face.

"So, we got them all finalized? This is our cast?" An intern with a high-pitched voice squeaked from across the table. Chris inadvertently cringed at the pitch of her squeak, mumbling in irritation as he forced himself to sit upright. "Yes, that's the 24. From the lowest of low scum human beings, to slightly less scummy human beings. We have quite the range." Chris decreed.

His hand creeped across from him to grip the Starbucks cup that had since grown long cold since original purchase. But Chris saw cold coffee as a victory. If a coffee got cold for Chris, it meant that he did hard enough work that he forgot it was even there in the first place.

Throwing it to his lips, Chris savored the frigid roast, placing it down in its original spot with a slam loud enough to make a few sleep-deprived interns jump.

"People! Why the sleepiness?!" Chris yelled with newfound enthusiasm. "Do you realize what this means? We have an awesome cast of teens that'll make this season some of the juiciest television has ever seen. I don't think America, or the world is ready."

A few moments of silence followed Chris' speech, when the same, squeaky-voiced intern peeped yet again.

"That's great and all, but I had a doctor's appointment and missed it because I fell asleep around application 1240."

_**Here is our final cast! Thank you to everyone who submitted. No matter if your OC gets in or not, everyone's contribution to this story matters. I am going to want your feedback as to what I need to work on, what ships you dig, and who you want to see go to the end.**_

_**For now, I need to go to sleep. The first chapter will be done after Wednesday, once I get back from the beach.**_

_**Thank you again 🙂.**_

**GIRLS**

1: Bea O'Malley- The Idealistic Mediator (Mine)

2: Miriam Hakimi- The Fiery Dancer (Nikolai777)

3: Mirabelle Bliss- The Wicked Girl with a Big Mouth (Waking Bad)

4: Kaisa- The Sarcastic Punk (CocoKisses TMNT)

5: Tonia Lockhart- The Youtube Blogger (Loralee13)

6: Pracilla Hawkins- The Total Package (DrArRy LuSt)

7: Anna-Jane Rosenburg- The Socially Awkward Writer/Journalist (xXKuroCat-Nanami)

8: Brianna Hanami- The Misunderstood Idol (Singer97)

9: Meredith White- The Curious Historian (Obsidian Champion)

10: Sophie Georgina Aventino- The Not-So-Delicate Doll (Skyn1nja123)

11: Maisie Campbell- The Tough Cookie (LunaMoonMyDreamer)

12: Luciana Perez- The Wise-Cracking Pick-Pocket (Mine)

**BOYS**

1: Alex Oracion Jr.- The Pianist with a Strong Appeal (Candela Monsoon)

2: Andrew James Hanson- The Lounge Singer (Skyn1nja123)

3: Tom Quinn Nguyen- The Scheming Writer (t20n00)

4: Mitch Myers- The Horror Fan (Zoryan El Muerto)

5: Daryl Thompson- The Vegan Stoner Dude (ANGELnDEVIL)

6: Hayato Mutsumi- The Pretty Boy Tsundere (Singer97)

7: Kurt "Bubba" Kingston- The Big Guy (Marie372)

8: Reggie Billings- The Mellow Jock (Pink Punk Princess 27)

9: Ash Healy- The Funny Guy (pkfirespammer)

10: Cohen Coaster- The Master of Slackers (XxxInquisitorXxx)

11: Kahlin Mora- The Laid Back Observer (Nikolai777)

12: Corsica Jones-Pasiley- The Character Actor (Toxic Smiling)


	5. Take a Bite of the Big Apple! (PART 1)

The camera opened on Chris and Chef, both of which were standing on what appeared to be a ferry. "Greetings, _Total Drama_!" Chris exclaimed, a smile plastered onto his face. "This season, we are taking our hit reality TV show across the border!"

Chef cleared his throat, soon chiming in. "This country elected the guy who hosted The Apprentice President, so anything is possible!" He declaimed, focusing his attention back onto Chris, who continued to speak.

"We are taking 24 teens on a cross-country adventure! From New York to California, with a ton of challenges along the way!" The camera began to pan out, revealing the beginnings of a large structure in the background. "Who will win? What type of drama will await us? Find out, this season, on," The camera had fully panned out, revealing the Statue of Liberty.

"_Total! Drama! United States!_"

**(THEME SONG)**

The show came back to Chris, appearing in what seemed to be in Grand Central Terminal. The architecture certainly alluded to that, from the high ceilings, to the yellow, dim lighting of the terminal. However, it was devoid of any people. The only sounds were the tranquil music playing from the intercom system, and soon enough, Chris' voice.

"Welcome back! We are currently in Grand Central Terminal in New York City, waiting for our contestants to arrive. And let me just say, the anticipation is killing me." Checking his watch, Chef grimaced, glancing over adjacently to his left. "These trains are coming in on time, right?"

The camera panned in the direction of Chris' stare to Chef, who was in the middle of putting a hot dog into his mouth. With an awkward stare directly into the camera's lens, he lowered the hotdog from his lips. "Yeah, Chris. We should be good," His eyes darted over Chris' shoulder, stopping when he jerked his chin forward. "Here comes someone now!"

An average height blonde girl emerged from the terminal, her upturned blue eyes scanning the vastness of her surroundings. Adjusting her hair so it fell naturally, her bangs covering her right eye, she began to amble to Chris, her black heels echoing against the dome-shaped ceiling. "H-Hello!" She called, eventually stopping beside Chris. She wore a sky blue top, covered by a black cardigan, as well as a black, knee-length skirt.

"Brianna Hanami! How was your journey?" Chris inquired, placing his hands onto his hips.

"I-It was good! B-But, I'm sorry for asking, but wasn't I supposed to be on my train with someone?" Brianna pointed out. Chris tipped his head, when suddenly the sound of a door opening alerted the camera man, who turned to face it.

A tall girl, around 5'10", emerged from the bathroom, the sound of a toliet flushing ringing behind her until the door came closed. She wore a pair of white shorts, which exposed muscular, mocha-hued legs, as well as a red tube top, and red Converse. Her black curls were up in a bun, exposing her piercing, brown eyes.

"Wait..." The girl narrowed her eyes at the camera. "Oh shoot, was I supposed to take the train here? Shoot, I live in the area, I just walked." She chuckled, skipping over to Chris, Chef, and Brianna, whom she stood beside.

"Luciana! You just ruined our first entrance!" Chris growled, narrowing his eyes to her. "What do you say to that?!"

Luciana bit her lower lip, appearing to hold back a laugh. "Uh," she cleared her throat. "The show must go on?"

Chris held himself back from saying more as the next contestant entered from the terminal. "Mitch Myers!" He was around 5'6", with short, brown hair with a red streak on the left slide, adorned in a black t-shirt with a Jason mask on the front, black sweatpants, and dark shoes. He stood a few feet from Brianna, who took note of the t-shirt choice.

"D-Do you like horror movies?" She asked, seeing this as an early opportunity to make friends. Mitch craned his neck slowly to Brianna, perking a brow to her.

"I'm not simply a horror fan, I live everything horror. From my clothes, to my name. Myers is the last name is the last name of the allusive villain from the Halloween franchise, who made his infamy by-"

"Jesus, McLean, I signed up for this show to not be lectured about stuff I don't care about!" A handsome man pushed between Brianna and Mitch, removing a pair of sunglasses with flourish. He had dark blue, almond shaped eyes, dark brown, windblown hair, and complimented his externally pleasing appearance by wearing a white shirt with a black sugar skull, dark wash jeans, black combat boots, and a silver chain along his neck.

"Wait! I know you!" Luciana exclaimed excitedly, a large smile exposing the dimples on both cheeks. "Your name is Drew Hanson, right? You're a lounge singer over in Brooklyn!"

Drew perked with interest, soon moving yet again so he was standing by Luciana. With a sly smirk, he folded his arms over his chest, scanning her over. "Oh, you know me? Well, what do you have to say about my voice, doll?"

Luciana chuckled, rolling her eyes at his attempt to flirt with her. "Well, doll, I actually didn't stay for your velvety pipes, I just went ahead and stole a 20 from your wallet. So, thanks for the Subway Cold Cut Combo, and the large pepperoni."

Drew stared incredulously, Chris taking this moment to introduce the next contestant. "Please welcome Ash Healy!"

A short male came forward, waving awkwardly to the contestants that had already shown up. "Oh? I'm the shortest guy so far? Well that's fun." He stood beside Mitch, holding a hand out to him. He had brown hair and blue eyes, concealed mostly by thick glasses, and wore a blue sweater and grey sweatpants. "Hey man! Dope shirt!"

Mitch nodded a head to him in appreciation. "Thanks, I am a connoisseur for the finest horror."

Ash smiled, already deciding that he would make a friend out of Mitch eventually. "You'll have to tell me about your favorite movies."

The next contestant then entered, a short head compared to the rest, being only 5'0". Almond shaped brown eyes glared at each contestant as she tucked her long, straight brown hair behind her ear. She wore a white tank top with a baggy, blue-black plaid shirt, black jeans, black and white Converse, and a black baseball hat.

"Meet Sophie Aventino, everyone! She goes by Soph." Chris introduced.

Drew stepped forward to introduce himself. "Hello, my short little pixie." He reached out to hold his hand, which Sophie took, and twisted behind his back in a simple motion. Drew yelped in pain, making Brianna shield her eyes and Ash stare in horror.

"Listen up, pretty boy. I can twist your limbs into a pretzel, so don't mess with me, got it?!" Sophie threatened, releasing Drew and pushing him away. Drew rubbed his wrist, pouting his lower lip at the phantom pain her grip left behind.

"I'm liking this season already." Chef murmured, gesturing to the next contestant. He was 5'7", and appeared to be of Asian descent, seemingly Vietnamese, scribbling away in a notepad. His monolid brown eyes were glued to the page of the words that poured from his mind, his fingers skimming his short, black hair, some of the front being gelled. A visible scar laid on his left cheek, and he wore a short sleeved, turquoise button up, blue plants, white Polo socks, and black Nike's.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Tom Nguyen." He put away his notebook, tucking it under his arm. He kept the introductions simple, opting to also stand a bit further from the group, but enough that each person was in eyesight. His eyesight soon shifted as he looked over at the girl that he had take his train with struggling up the stairs.

A girl that was around 4'11" emerged from the terminal, breathing heavily. "Jeez Louise, I nearly got lost! Sorry for keeping everyone waiting." She skipped over to the crowd, standing beside Tom. "Tom and I had a fun ride over, didn't we?"

The girl was quite cute, with almond-shaped hazel eyes due to her being half Filipino, and her black hair cascading in gentle waves to the middle of her shoulder blades. Her body was dotted with freckles, more harshly along her face, especially the bridge of her nose. She wore a pair of light-denim Mom jeans, fastened on her small frame with a black belt. A white t-shirt was tucked into her pants, with sunflowers on the front, and a pair of white Air Force Ones to pull the outfit together.

"Bea O'Malley! Glad you made it." Chris beamed, prompting Bea to squeeze Tom's arm and skipping to where Luciana and Drew were standing.

The next two contestants emerged from the terminal, however their anger filled voices echoed off the terminal's walls before they were seen. This made Brianna frown, directing her attention to the terminal. "H-How are people already fighting?" She murmured, her blue eyes wide.

"It's New York, babe, I hear worse than this mess walking to school everyday." Luciana retorted with a raise of her brows, patting the female's shoulder. Bea and Drew both nodded in agreement, being natives themselves.

"I'm just saying, your tattoo looks like you got it in the yee-haw trailer trash you probably grew up in." An average-height blonde girl quipped, her green eyes narrowed on the female next to her. She flipped her waist-length blonde hair and adjusted her pink, spaghetti strap top, which she paired with white shorts, and pink sandals.

The other girl, with tanned skin, standing at average height with brown eyes, brown hair with bangs cut across her forehead paused as she finally made it to the other contestants. She wore an orange top that left her stomach exposed, blue shorts, and black boots, the shorts exposing a butterfly tattoo on her left thigh. "Oh yeah, Blondie? With Daddy's money, can he buy you class? Dignity?" She raised her hand, seemingly about to flash her the middle finger. "How about you stick this right up-"

Chris cleared his throat loudly, prompting the two girls to stand away from each other. "The blonde one is Pracilla Hawkins," he pointed to Pracilla, then trailed his finger to the other girl. "The one who was about to waste some of the show's budget on the blur after-effect is Mira Bliss."

Ash awkwardly waved to the two of them, only to be met with looks of contempt from both. "Man, tough crowd." He articulated, using the hand he was using to push his glasses up his nose.

Sophie chortled, rolling her eyes. "I could take them both." She whispered in confidence, cracking her knuckles at the thought.

"Would a step stool be required?" Drew retorted, and as Sophie was about to lunge, Mitch held her back. "Save the blood-bath for the challenges." Mitch reminded Sophie, turning his attention as the next contestant entered.

A 5'0" girl entered, hesitantly looking around the terminal with large, hazel eyes. She wore a short-sleeved shirt of a pastel hue with a graphic kitten on the front, a light grey cardigan with the sleeves rolled up, a pale lavender skirt held up by a belt, white-knee length wool socks, and brown combat boots. "H-Hello, everyone!" She addressed the group nervously, fumbling with her silver choker.

"Everyone, meet AJ Rosenburg. Our resident journalist!" Chris embellished.

AJ turned pink at the title, shaking her head rapidly. "I-I wouldn't call myself that! I just write for the school paper, is all. I would hardly call myself a full journalist!" AJ babbled anxiously, finishing off her tangent with a laugh.

Pracilla scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, then don't call her a journalist. Can we please move on?"

AJ frowned, sliding over to join the other contestants. "I think it's cool that you write." Bea muttered to AJ, smiling warmly to her. "I sort of just speak and hope I find the point of what I'm saying along the way."

AJ giggled, the camera panning over to the next contestant. He was 5'9" with downturned, black eyes, gelled black hair, and was wearing a blue collared shirt, khaki shorts, and blue tennis shoes. Atop of everything was a black jacket, the hood down.

"Alex Oracion Jr., meet everyone!" Chris piped in.

Alex cleared his throat, raising a hand in an awkward wave. "Heya, everyone. I'm excited to get to know all of you. I gotta be honest, I'm kinda nervous, bu-"

Alex was cut off by a female storming in. She was 5'0 tall, with almond shaped grey eyes, and black hair adorned with pink streaks piled in two long pigtails atop her head. She wore a black hoodie with a hot pink wolf logo on the front, and the words "Lost and Betrayed: I'll Go My Own Way" written in hot pink on the back. She also wore black ripped jeans, and hot pink knee-high boots.

"McLean!" She growled, instantly grabbing the man by his collar. "Why would you put me on the train with Daryl?! Already searching for a vendetta, huh?"

Chris gasped, widening his eyes in falsified, melodramatic shock. "What? Me, searching for drama? Who would think? Now, release my shirt, Kaisa, before I decide to leave you here."

Kaisa released Chris with a huff, just as the person she shared her train with entered. He was 6 feet tall, with messy blonde hair piled into a bun. He had hooded, hazel eyes, and wore sandals, ripped bellbottom pants, a light-blue, sleeveless vest, a green t-shirt, and a shark tooth necklace.

"Kaisa, your aura is very red. Mindful meditation will help you become more connected with your inner chi." Daryl expressed, only to make Kaisa rub the bridge of her nose in agitation and groan.

Tom raised his brows in interest, quite perplexed by the group in front of him. Even despite the group not being complete, he could see the vastness of their personalities, some he knew he would meld well with, and others, as he directed his gaze to Sophie, Drew, Pracilla, and Mirabelle, not so much.

Despite not being so grandiose when the next contestant entered, all eyes were on him. Externally, he said everything that needed to be said. He had dull green eyes, with blue and black eye makeup. His face was covered with heavy makeup, a beauty mark dotted just above his lips, which were covered in red lipstick, with dark ochre hair cascading to his shoulders. His outfit consisted of a black soldier vest as a base, followed by rainbow striped pants, a red superhero's cape, and knee-high black boots with spikes. Additionally, a cowboy hat was rested atop his head, as well as a fake ear piercing, a rose in his hair, white gloves, and a pink-paisley ribbon around his neck.

"This is Corsica Jones-Paisley, a fashionista by heart, don't you all agree?" Chris prompted, turning to the other contestants.

"I would call it a fashion_ faux pas_." Pracilla chimed in, idly picking at her cuticles.

In response, Mira nodded in agreement. "I'm not too sure what that means, but I would call it a fashion hell-nah."

Corsica rolled his eyes, standing off to the side, more specifically near Bea and AJ.

"I like your outfit, especially the cape. Maybe you'll be the hero of this competition!" AJ encouraged with a kind grin.

This comment made Corsica smile and chuckle, looking off to the side. Whether it was because her statement was accurate, or it was completely incorrect, was unclear.

The next two contestants to enter were both girls, quite the opposites at first glance. The first girl was 5'8", with dark brown skin, eyes of different color; one blue, one green, with a side shave and long, multi-colored dreadlocks. She wore a strapless sundress with sandals. The other girl was average height, with small, blue eyes, and long, blonde hair. She wore a blue tank top, a pink skirt with white stockings, and pink flats.

"Meredith," Chris nodded to the blonde. "Maisie." He acknowledged the dreaded girl. "Did you both have a pleasant journey?"

Meredith nodded her head. "Of course! I've never met someone from Jamaica before, I loved hearing about the history of her home."

Meredith's enthusiasm about learning about others made Maisie smile in response. "Yeah! I couldn't have asked for a more pleasant train buddy."

Daryl regarded them both thoughtfully, pondering their auras. "You both have quite different chi energies, yet you are mellowing together quite well. The Divine Being has work in store for you two."

The next contestant soon entered, looking hopefully among the contestants. "Damn, am I really this late?" He commented, making his way to the crowd. He was around 5'11", and of Mexican descent, with brown eyes, dark brown hair, and a goatee. He wore a blue baseball jersey with a white tee beneath it, as well as brown jogger pants and white converse. A gray, backwards baseball cap was placed atop his head, and black fingerless gloves were snugged on his hands.

"Nah, Kyle Mora, you're right on time." Chris reassured the male as he stood beside Ash. Kyle removed his cap to ruffle his fingers through his hair, then placed the cap back on his head. "Did I miss anything fun?" He directed to Ash.

Ash shrugged, nonchalantly beginning to fill Kyle in on each person that had arrived so far. Each person made Kyle's eyes widen mere millimeter by millimeter. Once Ash was done, Kyle exhaled loudly. "Well, dope, let's hope the six left aren't disasters."

As if on cue, the next two contestants entered. One of them was already talking, seemingly into a vlog camera. She was 5'2" with mocha-hued skin, as well as almond-shaped blue eyes, and a golden pink french braid, with purple-hued tips and flowers braided effortlessly into the knots. She tied her aesthetic together by wearing a purple bodice with floral embroidery and lace sleeves, a deep purple skirt atop another thinner, red skirt with a slit up the side, and stockings with black boots.

The other, a plump male with brown hair and grey-blue eyes, wearing a white t-shirt and gym shorts and sneakers, added to her vlog, the joke making them both laugh.

"Wait, isn't that Tonia Lockhart? She's a huge Youtuber!" Meredith gushed excitedly, clasping her hands together. "I used to watch her videos all of the time!"

"Her audience consists of all kids who still are in middle school, so it makes sense that your viewership of her channel is in the past tense." Sophie piped in, quieting down when Tonia and her friend came forward.

Gesturing to the male, Tonia flipped loose strands of hair from her face. "Everyone, meet Bubba. He has become quite a good vlogging partner! I'm so grateful we were put together."

"Wait, is she allowed to have a camera, Chris?" Alex inquired, making Chris step forward and hold his hand out to Tonia.

"Absolutely not, Alex! Hand it over, Tonia. The only things that'll be filmed will be for the show, not for your Youtube channel."

Tonia pouted her lower lip, handing the camera to Chris and standing beside Bubba. "A shame, you would have been a star, Bubba."

This comment made Bubba smirk. "I'm on Total Drama! So I'm already halfway there." He pointed out cleverly, already fantasizing about the Michelin-star chefs he would hire to cook his meals once he won the money.

The next contestant was an attractive, African-American man, with black hair and green eyes, wearing a pair of gym shorts and a football jersey with the number 12 on it with sneakers, and he stood around 6'4".

"Howdy, Reggie! Pleasant train ride?" Chris greeted, folding his arms over his chest. The contestants could tell the constant back and forth between introducing a contestant and moving to the next was starting to get to him as he shifted back and forth in the place he stood.

"Yeah, Chris!" Reggie moved to stand in the clump of contestants, nearly running into Kaisa along the way. "Sorry, I didn't see you down there."

Kaisa folded her arms over her chest, sourly glaring up to the male. "You know the best part about this height around tall people like you is that I am super close to the place that'll make you cry to your mama if it happens to be kicked."

Reggie gaped in shock down at her, immediately moving to stand away from her, much to Kaisa's content.

Bea seemingly noticed the next contestant when she entered, her eyes widening. "Oh no." She squeaked in fear. Drew took notice, furrowing his brows. "You guys got history?" He asked curiously, making Bea nod her head.

The girl was around 5'6" and of Arabian descent, with dark brown eyes, and black hair that was placed neatly into a ponytail. She wore a blue-denim vest, with a black bikini top beneath, and a purple-pink mini-skirt with brown penny boots. The girl walked forward with an air of confidence, though stopped when she saw Bea.

"Oh, it's you. I haven't seen you since our dance battle in Chicago." Miriam glanced the much smaller girl over skeptically, which made Bea turn bright red.

"Yeah, haha! Second place isn't the worst, y'know! You put up a good... dance fight?" Bea fumbled with her words, seemingly inching her small frame behind Drew.

Miriam chuckled, starting to walk by Bea without even fixing her gaze to her. "We'll have to have a rematch sometime."

The tension in the Grand Central Terminal made everyone go silent, which Ash broke by beginning to awkwardly whistle.

"Finally! For the love that is good and Holy! Our last two contestants are here!" Chris yelled in exasperation.

The first male trickled in, being around 5'9" with blue eyes and brown hair cut into a short crewcut style, as well as having a mole on his left cheek. He wore a green polo shirt with the number 7 on the top left portion of his shirt, black denim jeans with green sneakers, accessorized by brown socks and a black watch on his left wrist.

"Hey, 'sup, I'm Cohen, call me Coast if you want, or not, I don't care." Cohen breezed by the contestants, seemingly already heading toward the exit.

"Not so fast, Cohen!" Chris called, only to see that Chef had grabbed the male by the back of his shirt to stop him.

The last of the contestants exited the terminal, being 5'9" and of Japanese descent. He had almond shaped brown-green eyes, with short, tousled light brown hair. He wore a white and blue, long-sleeve striped shirt, with black pants and sneakers. His path to the other contestants came to a screeching halt as his gaze transfixed on, ironically, the first contestant that had been introduced.

Brianna guffawed to the male, her hand moving to cover her mouth to resist a cry from emitting from her lips. "H-Hayato?" She stuttered, rubbing her eyes to rid herself of the possible mirage of an image before her of her childhood friend. Once she saw that he hadn't faded away, Brianna ran forward.

As if prepared, Hayato held his arms out, catching Brianna in his arms and hugging her close. "Brianna? I never thought I would see you again!" He pulled away first, his hands remaining on her shoulders.

A chortle of disbelief parted from Brianna's lips, her eyes glazed with tears of joy. "Looks like we're in this together."

Kyle and Luciana rolled their eyes. "Heteros." They exhorted at the same time, both looking to each other in joy afterward, already excited at the prospect of being on the same team.

Chris clapped his hand, redirecting the attention back to him. "Alright! Now, let me break things down, and tell you how things will work. Chef," he looked to his partner in crime. "Release Cohen, he's got the right idea about going outside."

Chef shrugged, releasing the much smaller male, who began moving his legs toward the exit without missing a beat.

**(OUTSIDE OF GRAND CENTRAL STATION)**

"Here's how it's gonna work." Chris began once all of the contestants had filed outside. "You'll be divided into two teams of twelve, and every week, we are going to a different city in America and you'll be faced with challenges revolving around what that city has to offer. Losing team heads to elimination, where they'll vote someone off, and the winning team will be rewarded!"

"Uh, Chip? Chief? Whatever your name is?" Drew raised his hand in the air. "How are we expected to travel to these cities?"

Chris smiled in sadistic glee. "Glad you asked, pretty boy!" Raising his hands with flourish, Chris clapped his palms together. This cue rang a cacophony of honking noises, which made Meredith and AJ cover their ears.

Two huge, decked out RVs came from around the corner, one of them painted with a blue color and all things Northern; from the Statue of Liberty, to the Space Needle, with the term '**YANKEES**' decked out in graffiti lettering. The other, red with Southern pride, from Disney World to Nascar, with the term '**YEE-HAWS**' painted in similar lettering. "In these, three million dollar RVs! They have bunk-style sleeping, a kitchen area, lounging area, with a roof-top area with heated floors where you'll be conducting your eliminations every week!"

Everyone was baffled at the scale of the RVs, some of the contestants murmuring to the people around them, while others stared dumbfoundedly.

"Wanna hear your teams?" Chris teased, removing a notecard from his pocket. "On the Yankees, I need Bea, AJ, Pracilla, Miriam, Kaisa, Maisie, Drew, Tom, Ash, Corsica, Reggie, and Cohen!"

That group of people stepped to the side, leaving the remainder. "On the Yee-Haws, we have Brianna, Luciana, Mira, Tonia, Sophie, Meredith, Hayato, Alex, Mitch, Bubba, Kyle, and Daryl!"

With the two teams divided, Chris rubbed two fingers along his temple, his brows pursed together in thought. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

The confessional area was the bathroom, which Chris was currently occupying. "Like World Tour, the bathroom can also be a place where you can relieve yourself verbally, and get some stuff off your chest."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

The RVs soon moved away, leaving the contestants with Chef and Chris. "Our first challenge begins soon, and it'll take place right here in the Big Apple! So get to know your fellow teammates, because teamwork is the name of this challenge!" Chris demanded, watching as the two teams broke off even more, starting to discuss within their own groups.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I know the city like the back of my hand! I grew up here! I have memories with every little place." Bea sighed in relief. "Plus, I have AJ on my team, and she seems really cool, so I have no problems right now with being a Yankee on the Yankees!"

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I've never been one to actively participate, per say." Corsica spoke, the first time since he had arrived. "I never have a reason to unless given a reason to. Let's hope for the sake of my team, they give me a good reason."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Tom tapped his chin, furrowing his brows together. "I doubt AJ and Bea will be problematic figures on my team, however I cannot say the same for Pracilla and Kaisa." He smiled pleasantly, closing his eyes. "I doubt their penmanship will be hard to imitate."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Tonia huffed, pouting even more. "I can't Vlog! Then how are people supposed to know what I'm doing without cameras on me?!" As her words sunk in, her eyes widened. "Wait.."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I can't believe I'm seeing Brianna again..." Hayato spoke dreamily, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've waited for this moment for years now. I really hope I don't mess it up."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Daryl had his legs crossed, his eyes closed as he inhaled through his nose, and loudly through his mouth. "Yoga brings me peace of mind. All that is occurring is for my higher being for myself, and everyone involved. I must go within the seat of my consciousness to truly learn what I need, and that's necessary only through quiet meditation..." As he was about to zone out, there was a bang at the door.

"Hey, Señor Granola, care to meditate out here so some people can ramble?!" Mira yelled from the other side, prompting Daryl to open his eyes and stare sadly into the camera.

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAMS)**

Chris smiled to the camera, his hands resting on his hips. "What challenge does New York City have to offer? Who will be going home first? Find out next week on,

_"TOTAL! DRAMA! UNITED STATES!_"

_**Heya! Sorry this took so long to get out. I had finals week, and then I went to the beach, and then I got sick when I came home. I hate writing intro chapters bc it's a lot of "here's a lot of blatant description" writing, when I enjoy writing dialogue a ton. However, I hope you enjoyed the intros!**_

_**Who do you like so far? Got any ships? Anyone you can see going far, or being shoved immediately out the car? Review below!**_

_**See you next time, thanks for reading!**_


	6. Take a Bite of the Big Apple! (PART 2)

"Last time on Total Drama: United States!" Chris' signature voice began the episode.

Shots of each contestant arriving filled the screen, followed by a narration by Chris. "24 teens arrived in Grand Central Terminal in New York City, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the hopes of winning $100,000 and Total Drama fame!"

The shot then changed to Chris in the middle of Times Square, police barricades keeping him separate from the fans behind him from invading his personal space. "I personally can't wait to see that sense of naïve hope fade from them one by one!" Chris admitted with a wicked chuckle.

"But anywho," he was quick to compose himself, straightening his posture and smoothing down his shirt. "What awaits our contestants this week? Who will go home first? Find out this week on," Chris raised his arms, which allowed the fans behind him to join in on welcoming the episode.

_"Total! Drama! United States!"_

**(INSTRUMENTAL OF THEME SONG)**

The instrumental began with a plane landing in the United States, and Chris emerging from the plane with a huge grin on his face and waving an American flag.

**(DEAR MOM AND DAD I'M DOING FINE, YOU GUYS ARE ON MY MIND)**

The camera followed Chris through John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2x speed, until he eventually ended up outside signing autographs to rabid fans, leaving Chef to carry their bags, all while holding pamphlets about what to do in New York City. As Chef put down one of the suitcases, one of the pamphlets flew away in the breeze.

**(YOU ASK ME WHAT I WANTED TO BE, NOW I THINK THE ANSWER IS PLAIN TO SEE)**

The pamphlet drifted into a body of water in Central Park, only to be caught on a hook and reeled it. The other side of the hook was revealed to be Cohen, who huffed at his catch. The camera panned over to Bubba, who reeled in a rather large fish with a beam on his face.

**(I WANNA BE FAMOUS)**

The camera moved across Central Park to Reggie and Mira, who were throwing a football back and forth to each other. Reggie signaled for Mira to go long, launching the ball from his grip. Mira jumped for it, ultimately missing and watching it hit a cop as he rode by on a bike, sending him to the ground. He got up, immediately heading toward the two, prompting them to run away in terror. They ran across the entrance of the Metropolitan Art Museum, and when they moved inside, the camera followed.

**(I WANNA LIVE CLOSE TO THE SUN)**

Meredith and Tonia pondered over a Van Gogh self-portrait, Meredith appearing to be rambling about the history of the piece to Tonia, who flipped out her camera to begin to vlog. When they saw Reggie and Mira move by, they paused in confusion, especially when the cop followed. However, the cop stopped when he saw Tonia, removing a notepad to get her autograph.

Meredith huffed, stepping outside of the Met, just for her Met brochure to fly away, which the camera followed.

**(SO PACK YOUR BAGS BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY WON)**

The Met brochure flew towards Chinatown, stopping when it hit a window to a tea shop. Mitch, Daryl, and Ash were inside, idly looking over tea leaves. When Daryl whipped out a bowl to try and pack the tea leaves in it like they were bud, Mitch face-palmed, Ash staring in awe as Mitch took the bowl and threw it in the trash, just as it was being taken out, and loaded into a garbage truck.

**(EVERYTHING TO PROVE NOTHING IN MY WAY, I'LL GET THERE ONE DAY)**

The garbage truck eventually passed through Times Square, with Pracilla and Maisie ambling from shop to shop with bags in her hand, the camera then moving to Brianna and Hayato as they got a picture together with someone pretending to be Spiderman. Once Pracilla, Brianna, Hayato, and Maisie all got back together, they gaped at Sophie trying to put the same Spiderman into a headlock, rushing over to her, hoping to pull her off. The camera then followed a taxi as it drove by.

**('CAUSE I WANNA BE FAMOUS)**

The camera followed the taxi to New York Public Library, where Tom and AJ got out, already whipping out their notebooks in excitement. As AJ opened her notebook to begin to speak to Tom, Kaisa appeared out of nowhere, removing something from AJ's pocket and getting into the taxi they had arrived in.

**(NA NA NA...)**

The taxi moved to Broadway, and Kaisa got out, entering the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway as Alex was playing the piano, and Drew was singing lovingly to an adoring audience, to which Kaisa rolled her eyes.

**(I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS!)**

The camera moved down the block to the Neil Simon Theatre, where Bea and Miriam were on-stage, laughing as they did the macarena and turned themselves to the side.

**(I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS!)**

The camera moved Corsica exiting the stage door of the Neil Simon Theatre, appearing to have just gotten off stage prior to when Bea and Miriam started dancing. With a longing expression on his face, he peered upward to the top of the Empire State Building.

**(WHISTLES)**

The camera moved to the top of the Empire State Building, where Luciana and Kyle sat on lawn-chairs, clinking two bottles of Coke together. Suddenly, Luciana pointed to the sky, hitting Kyle on the arm to get his attention.

In the sky, a plane came by, a banner saying "Total Drama: United States" flying behind it.

**(EPISODE START)**

The episode started where the campers had been left last; broken up into their teams, the Yankees and the Yee-Haws, outside of Grand Central Terminal, with Chris in the middle of them. "Alrighty, everyone! You've had some time to mingle, ready for your challenge?"

Cohen cleared his throat, raising his hand. "You call 5 minutes enough time for us to mingle? Pracilla took every minute of that time telling us about her boob job."

Pracilla gasped, folding her arms over her chest. "It's a good story!"

Cohen dropped his gaze to the ground, kicking at a small pebble. "We just asked where you were from." He mumbled, which Ash overheard and nodded in agreement.

Chris snapped his fingers, drawing the attention back to him. "Teamwork is the name of the game today, as well as playing to your new team's strengths! Your team will be divided into three groups of four. One group will be going to the top of the Empire State Building by stairs to retrieve puzzle pieces at the top, while another group will have to steal puzzle pieces from an American Museum of Natural History exhibit. When you get your puzzle pieces, you will head to the Gershwin Theatre, where the third group will be there to assemble the puzzle pieces. Now, break up into groups!"

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I-Is Chris really expecting us to put ourselves at risk for a challenge?!" Brianna gasped, her eyes wide as she buried her fingers into her hair. "What did I get myself into?!"

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Is Chris really expecting us to put ourselves at risk for a challenge?" Kaisa sat on the toliet set, propping her feat against the counter. She pouted her lower lip, nodding in approval. "Dope."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAMS)**

The team in focus was the Yee-Haws, as they discussed how they would break everyone up.

"So, Mira and I have experience running, I run because of baseball, she runs from her past, it all works out." Kyle rationalized, shooting an angry look from Mira.

"Alright, listen here! I'm tougher than all of y'all, don't get on my bad side or you'll regret it!" Mira threatened, much to the disapproval of everyone around her.

This earned a hum from Daryl, who rose from his meditation position. "My chakras have aligned in such a way that physical activity will be doable for me. I will carry this team via my aura energy, to victory."

"No one knows what you are talkin' about, you hippie-dippie-" Mira began to argue, only to be interrupted by Sophie, who clapped her hands.

Once the attention was on her, Sophie tucked her hands behind her back, glaring at everyone in front of her. "If you all would stop paying attention to yourselves, you would realize that the odds are against us this challenge. The most extreme of the brawns, the sly, and the brains are over on the Yankees, play to your strengths instead of your giant egos."

Alex nodded his head in agreement. "She's right. It's why I think Meredith, Brianna, Hayato, and I should be on assembling the puzzle. We may not be the smartest of the bunch, but we're good communicators. That's what everything will come down to."

Hayato then chimed in, pointing to the remainder of people left. "That leaves Tonia, Luciana, Mitch, and Bubba on stealing duty. Tonia would be a good diversion, given her Internet fame."

As the Yee-Haws continued to discuss their plan, Sophie smirked, folding her arms over her chest.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"My plan is to lead my team by revealing the weaknesses of its players. Mira's hot-head will eventually get her eliminated." Sophie divulged with a smile on her face. "I just don't need to really reveal myself as an enemy to everyone. Maybe I'll even have an alliance along the way. Who knows?"

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

The camera then moved to the Yankees as they planned out who would go where.

"So, clearly Brickhouse here is going to be on the Empire State Building, right?" Drew gestured over to Reggie, who frowned at the pigeon-holing of his personality into a singular word.

"Hey! He has a name..." AJ began to defend Reggie, until she paused, biting her lower lip as her voice trailed off and she went silent.

"Reggie." The athlete reminded her, to which she automatically perked up. "Yeah! Reggie." AJ turned to Reggie, her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry." She mouthed, to which Reggie smiled.

"So, I think Reggie, Miriam, Kaisa and I should take on the Empire State Building. We are all strong and fast, we can take down the other team without breaking a sweat." Maisie decreed, folding her arms over her chest and perking her brows confidently.

"I believe it would be beneficial for AJ, Bea, Cohen, and I to tasked with assembling the puzzle." Tom added, which was met with positivity on his part, until Pracilla scoffed.

"There is like, no way I'm going to work with Four Eyes," she gestured to Ash with her left hand. "Or someone who looks like they got dressed in the dark." She then gestured to Corsica.

Bea raised her hand, tipping her head to the side. "I'll switch, Pracilla. It's no problem. Let's all just stay positive, and hopefully we can win."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Corsica huffed, moving his hands along the fabric of his cowboy hat. "Nearly everyone in this competition is a one-toned cliché. It's exhausting to be one of the few people in this competition with nuance." He folded his arms over his chest, tapping his chin as he suddenly began to ponder something. "I usually work alone, but maybe I'll make an alliance. Conveniently, two of the people I want to work with are joining me at the history museum."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Don't go away! When we come back, steps will be taken up the stairs of the Empire State Building. Will they puke? Probably! Find out when we come back!" Chris pointed upward toward the Empire State Building, prompting things to fade to black for a commercial.

**(EMPIRE STATE BUILDING)**

Inside of the Empire State Building were each team's respective groups, with Chris and Chef holding up a starting line.

"Alrighty! For the Yee-Haws, we have Mira, Kyle, Daryl, and Sophie. For the Yankees, we have Reggie, Miriam, Kaisa, and Maisie. Remember! All you must do is scale 80+ flights of stairs to the top of the Empire State Building, not bad at all, right?" Chris quipped, narrowing his eyes toward the groups that had been dealt with the grueling task.

Miriam huffed, biting the inside of her cheek. "God, I'm so tired of him and we just got here."

Kyle raised his hand, waving it over to Chris. "Yo, are we going to have water at the halfway point? Like a 5K?"

Chris stared incredulously at his contestants, shaking his head. "Will there provide water?" He looked to Chef, repeating his question as a whisper. "Will there be water?" He smirked, raising his brows in anticipation. "Only one way to find out. On your mark, get set, GO!"

Without so much as a warning, the campers took off, with Kyle and Kaisa leading the pack, and Daryl and Maisie trailing in the back.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Maisie seethed in anger, drumming her nails against the sink's countertop. "Chris is lucky that I don't shave his head, ya dig?" She clenched her teeth together, emitting a forceful exhale that visibly released tension in her shoulders. "Every team member needs to be at the top for the win. I figured if I paced myself, I could get it for the Yankees."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Flight 10

"Come on, guys!" Reggie panted, wiping sweat from his brow as he moved in place, waiting on Miriam to catch up. "We only have...70 more flights to go! Think of it as seven flights of 10!" He tried to spread positivity, just as Kaisa passed, her facing having paled since everything had started.

"I beg of you... Please shut up." Kaisa begged, clapping Reggie on the shoulder as she passed him.

Flight 22

"Yeah, pass me, just use your signals." Kyle motioned for Sophie and Miriam to pass him, which they did unflinchingly as he sat on one of the stairs.

Mira jogged by, glaring down at the male. "What do ya think you're doin'?" She accused, pausing to address her teammate.

"Dude, it's 60 or something flights more. I've earned a break." Kyle justified his actions, only to have Mira grab the collar of his shirt, dragging him to his feet.

"No! You earn a break once we WIN! Now get ya butt into GEAR!" She demanded, slapping him upon the head as she continued to run, leaving a dumbfounded Kyle behind.

Flight 48

Miriam stood with Reggie, Kaisa, and Maisie, as they regrouped together before they began to amble up the next few flights.

"All we.." Miriam paused, coughing into her elbow. "All we have to do is stay consistent in pace and regroup so we all get there at the same time."

Kaisa nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Sophie is carrying the weight for her team, and she doesn't weigh that much, so she'll collapse soon."

Reggie put his hand in the middle. "Alright, Yankees. We've got this."

Each member put their hands in, breaking apart and heading up the flights once more.

Flight 67

Sophie tapped her foot impatiently, her arms folded over her chest as she waited on the members of her team.

Soon, Kyle and Mira joined her, to which Sophie groaned. "Where the hell is Daryl!?" She scowled, her voice cracking as she felt her vocal chords constrict. She needed water, quick.

"I haven't seen him at all." Mira patted her forehead with her shirt, eager for the shower she would take once this was over. "What floor are the Yankees on?"

Kyle pointed upward, seeing figures of the other team only a few flights away. "Not too far, I think Miriam is starting to feel sick."

"Then we have to catch up!" Sophie rasped, gesturing up the stairs. "Let's move it!"

Flight 75

Miriam leaned over a railing, the luke-warm sensation of the metal against her forehead providing her relief of the warmth spreading through her body.

"It's only five more flights, okay?" Reggie rubbed a hand on her back, having discarded his shirt around floor 70, and using it as a headband. "Then you can relax."

Miriam shook her head, her lips pursed shut as she closed her eyes. She swallowed something back, her body trembling. "Nah, I gotta do something now."

Maisie turned away, covering her ears. "Oh god, are you going to vomit? Do it quick."

Miriam didn't need much prompting, as it had been building in her stomach since around floor 50. With a cough, vomit poured from her lips, splashing at around floor 73.

The voices of the team below sounded below, mainly the string of expletives strung out by Sophie.

"I'm sorry, I have to do this, we are so close to winning." Reggie hoisted onto Miriam onto his back, starting toward the 80th floor, as the footsteps of the Yee-Haws grew closer behind him.

Top Of Empire State Building

Chris stood with Daryl, smoke drifting around them as the doors suddenly opened, members of the Yankees filing through, soon to be followed by the Yee-Haws.

Chris gasped, fanning the area around him desperately. "Well well well, you guys look terrible!"

Sophie collapsed to her knees, leering quixotically up at Daryl. "How...How did you get up here?"

Daryl gestured lazily to the elevator. "Chris didn't say anything against using the elevator." He pointed out, as if it were obvious.

Kyle fell to a heap on the ground, his chest rising and falling vociferously. "Damn it, dude."

"With that, the Yankees have won their advantage! They get to take the elevator down to meet their taxi, while the Yee-Haws have to take the stairs!" Chris produced two puzzle bags with the team names on them and tossed them to the competitors.

Miriam raised her hand to catch the puzzle pieces, smiling groggily at the bag. "You were worth it..." She trailed off, suddenly opening the bag to vomit inside of it.

Kaisa cringed, shaking her head. "Sorry to the people who have to put that together..."

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

Chef stood with the next group at the American Museum of Natural History, regarding the lackluster group with disgust. "Alright, maggots! The Yankees, your puzzle pieces are tied to the t-rex exhibit, Yee-Haws, your puzzle pieces are tied to the trunk of the elephant replicas, which means you have to get past security, tourists, and the velvet ropes!"

Bea and Ash exchanged nervous glances, while Luciana stood cockily, almost tempted to even yawn.

"Move it!" Chef yelled, dispersing the two groups.

Once everyone was gone, Chef removed a brochure. "Now that butterfly room..."

Yankees

Drew gawked at the dangling puzzle pieces, which were tied to a rib of the t-rex fossil exhibit, which was guarded by two guards, in the middle of the entire museum, surrounded by tourists.

Ash gulped, turning to face his teammates. "Well, I think we need to first handle the tourists."

Corsica raised his brows, jerking his chin to Drew "That should be your job. Whip out the vocals, make it happen."

Drew huffed, moving a hand through his hair. "It is truly so hard to be blessed with such a beautiful voice. You know, I didn't ask to be so prof-"

Bea cut him off, gingerly beginning to push the much taller male toward the crowd. "I would love to hear your backstory another time! Just please, not now!"

Drew took this as his signal, confidently striding toward the group of tourists, his gaze sliding from right to left as he took he took note of the phone speaker resting behind pole. Clearing his throat, he unhooked the phone from the latch, beginning to sing into it.

"_And now, the end is near. And so I face, the final curtain_." Drew began to sing, the song being "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. The way his tenor sounded over the speaker was nothing short of beautiful, his vibrato making the tourists turn to him.

"Okay, funny boy, this is your time. Go distract a security guard." Corsica pointed to Ash, gesturing to the female security guard behind him.

Ash pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a shaky wrist, approaching the female guard, who was fully distracted by Drew's singing to pay the smaller male much attention.

"Hey, ma'am-" Ash began, blinking in surprise as the female security guard turned to him, narrowing her eyes.

"You're supposed to be in the East Side Middle School field trip group!" She accused, gripping Ash's arm.

Ash shook his head profusely. "No! Ma'am! I'm a teenager! I may not have grown much, but I can assure you that I am a teen!"

The female security guard shook her head, starting to drag Ash away. "You aren't fooling me!"

Corsica smiled in satisfaction, turning to Bea. "Now, you, we have business to attend to."

Bea tipped her head, scrunching up her nose as the music built to the climax to the song.

"Business? What do you mean?" Bea inquired, folding her arms over her chest.

Corsica gestured over to Drew, who was having a ball performing VIA intercom for New York City tourists. "I want an alliance with you and Drew."

Bea gaped in awe, quite unsure of how to respond. "Why...?"

Corsica dusted some dirt off his shoulder, removing his hat to place onto Bea's head. "Because, you are so idealistic and cute, and Drew is Drew. He's great the way he is. We have everything we need to be a good alliance." Corsica closed his eyes, starting to even his breathing.

"Oh, well, I would love an alliance! I'm not really in this game to win, I would love to make friends, and winning would be great, but I'm really here to expand my bubble. I think an alliance would be a great way to do that!" Bea began to adorably babble, completely unaware of Corsica sliding into character.

Once Corsica's eyes opened, his demeanor shifted; his shoulders were straightened, his eyes narrowed with placid determination as his entire posture gave way to regality and structure, like that of a ninja.

Suddenly, Corsica charged forward, hopping the velvet rope to grab the puzzle pieces swiftly, returning to Bea's side just as the other security guard began to turn his head.

Corsica held the puzzle pieces out to Bea, who was frozen in surprise over the display behind her, only to be brought back by people clapping at the end of Drew's song.

"Woah! That was awesome!" Bea complimented, suddenly trailing off. "But, what was the point of me being here then? I feel pretty useless."

Corsica chortled, trading the puzzle pieces for his hat. "Sweetheart, you weren't all that useless." He placed his hat back on his hat, tracing the rim with his fingers. "You held my hat, didn't you?"

Yee-Haws

Luciana leaned against a water fountain, watching her team as they strategized with a bored look on her face.

"Okay, we have to get the puzzle pieces. They're tied to the elephant's trunk, so we need someone to just get in and out." Bubba theorized, gesturing from the elephant replica to the spot at which they were standing.

Tonia contemplated the large structure in intimidation, shaking her head. "Sorry, boys. I don't think that's going to be me. My reputation can't have me touching precious replicas."

Mitch huffed, rolling his eyes. "Why would you come on this show if you don't want to tarnish your reputation at least a little bit?"

Tonia was about to protest when she heard her name called from someone outside of her own team.

Suddenly, a crowd of middle schoolers approached Tonia, waving their phones to her. "We love you!" They called, drawing the attention of other people, and ultimately the security guards.

"Well, that does that." Mitch folded his arms over his chest, pointing to Bubba. "Now go get the puzzle pieces."

Bubba did a double-take, shaking his head. "No way! You do it!"

Mitch narrowed his eyes, barring his teeth together. "You're doing it, or else I'll get you voted off!"

Bubba laughed at the threat, clenching his fists together. "Bring it on!"

Luciana cleared her throat, drawing the attention of her two male teammates. Without saying a word, Luciana produced the bag of puzzle pieces, dangling it in their faces. "While the guards went off to help Tonia, and you two were too busy arguing to notice, I went ahead and nabbed them. Can we please scoop the Youtube Princess and win this?"

The Lobby

Chef smiled in content, knowing his knowledge in Monarch Butterflies had expanded since the start of his day. Sometimes, this show had weird ways at rewarding his good deeds.

Footsteps sounded his return to "Chef" mode, his face becoming stern as he stood rigidly, waiting to see what team approached first.

The Yee-Haws came first, followed by the Yankees, who both had their puzzle pieces.

"Okay, you undisciplined rats, the Yee-Haws arrived first, which means they get a 5 minute head start in their taxis!"

Luciana high-fived Mitch, the Yee-Haws darting out of the door to get ready for the final leg of the challenge.

This left Chef with the Yankees, Ash beginning to awkwardly whistle. "Sorry I got lost in the middle school tour group."

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

The show came back to Gershwin Theatre, and on the stage were the two groups, the board to assemble the puzzle placed in front of them. The curtain was closed, shielding the contestants to whatever was going on in the house.

"So, how long do you suppose it will be for our teammates return?" Tom vocalized, looking to AJ, Cohen, and Pracilla.

"Hopefully not long, I gotta pee." Cohen mumbled, glancing over to the other team. "Do you think we got a chance of winning?"

"Absolutely! We have some strong people and some smart people, and here we are! We're good at assembling puzzles!" AJ surmised; a large grin plastered on her soft features.

On the Yee-Haw side, Brianna and Hayato were busy playing rock-paper-scissors, giggling childishly as one of them one or the other lost.

"You really haven't changed all that much." Hayato informed Brianna, peering at her while they played.

Brianna shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a blush rising to her face. "Y-You haven't either...I'm really happy this game brought us back together."

Meredith turned from Brianna and Hayato to Alex, smiling welcomingly to him. "So, tell me about you! What do you like to do?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I love playing the piano. It's my life." Alex began to explain, a dreamy look on his face as he discussed the piano. "I also really like basketball and math."

Meredith nodded her head along with what Alex was saying, turning her attention away when Chris approached from stage right, wearing a suit and tux.

"What's with the get-up?" Alex asked, noticing the vast different between his own hoodie and the tuxedo.

"Well, Alex, I always look good for an audience!" Chris clapped his hands, the curtains drawing to reveal a huge crowd in the house, who erupted in cheers the moment the spotlights landed on the contestants.

Chris grabbed a microphone from stage right, speaking into it. "Hello, Total Drama fans! Our two groups from the Empire State Building and the American Museum of Natural History are starting to arrive, but who will get here first?"

The doors to the stage left house entrance burst open, light pouring down the aisles in the orchestra seating as Luciana, Tonia, Bubba, and Mitch charged inside, with Bubba swinging the puzzle piece bag like it was a lasso.

Meredith and Alex high-fived, the group coming onto the stage and moving to their team on stage left, throwing the puzzle pieces on the board. "We just have to wait for the Empire State Building group!" Tonia spoke excitedly.

Light poured down the orchestra aisles from the stage right house door, not only the Empire State group entering, but the Museum group also following them.

"Well, how about that? I have to look behind my shoulder to see how far behind you guys are!" Pracilla mocked, watching Bea put the puzzle pieces down on their board, followed by Miriam, who looked oddly ashamed by the process.

"Alright, Yankees! You may begin your puzzle!" Chris prompted, smiling sinisterly as Pracilla reached her hand inside of Miriam's bag, only to be met with a semi-solid sensation.

"Yuck, what's in here?" Pracilla exclaimed, producing her hand out of the bag, only to see it covered in vomit. She screamed, just as the Empire State Building group for the Yee-Haws came in.

"Sorry for being late! Daryl took a little bit longer!" Mira growled, practically dragging the male in by the man-bun.

Sophie put the puzzle bag on their table, and Meredith emptied the puzzle pieces, flipping them right-side up to examine the outlines that it was creating. "Look for edges first, like any jigsaw." She told her group, who began to assemble the outside of the puzzle.

"I am NOT touching that puzzle! Someone threw up inside of it!" Pracilla stomped her heel on the ground, moving her vomit-covered hand away from her body.

Cohen rolled his eyes, dumping out the puzzle pieces, beginning to wipe off the ones stained with vomit on his shirt. "Jesus, it's fine. Don't have such a cow. You've thrown up. We all have."

Pracilla groaned, immediately exiting stage right. "I'm going to wash my hands!" This left Cohen, Tom, and AJ to begin cleaning the puzzle.

"With that, Pracilla has abandoned her team! Will this stop the Yankees from winning?" Chris spoke into the microphone, making the crowd cheer even louder.

"Okay, it's a facial structure." AJ theorized, noting the eyes among some of the pieces.

"Look at the eyes, they are familiar in the way our hosts' are. This is a portrait of Chris." Tom confirmed as he began to put pieces together. "Use him as a live model, we've got this."

As the Yankees moved from the inside out, the Yee-Haws were moving from the outside-in, the entire outside structure of their puzzle done, leaving them to fill in the details.

"I-It's Chris!" Brianna conveyed as she put the left side of his face together. "We are making Chris!"

With the knowledge of what they were putting together being known, the teams got to work, the Yankees working in silence, while the Yee-Haws avidly whispered to each other, soon getting to the last two pieces, which Brianna and Hayato slammed down and raised their hands.

"With that, the Yee-Haws win the first challenge and are safe from elimination!" Chris yelled, red confetti falling from the cat-walk above them. The Yee-Haws cheered, pouring from the stage left wings, embracing each other and congratulating each other.

"Yankees, go to your RV, you have to figure out who you are voting off!" Chris demanded, smiling as the Yankees slunk off.

**(YANKEES RV)**

"It has to be either Miriam or Pracilla. Pracilla abandoned the team, and Miriam was the reason behind that." Tom informed AJ, Bea, Drew, and Corsica as they sat in the living room area.

"I think it should be Pracilla. Number one, I don't trust the way she spells her name. Number two, Miriam won't create as many problems for us in the future." Drew added, igniting Bea to nod in reaction.

"I think if we had her extra, well, hand, then we could have caught up a ton." AJ pouted, resting her chin in her hand.

Meanwhile, in the bunk area, Miriam sat with Maisie, Reggie, and Kaisa. "You guys don't think it'll be me, do you?" Miriam mumbled, her gaze casted downward as she pondered the idea of her being the first eliminated.

"No way, Pracilla is a priss. She's pissed me off since we've gotten here." Kaisa reassured the female, patting her arm. "You'll be safe."

Cohen and Ash ambled by, both looking equally as angry.

"Yo fellas, what's going on?" Reggie asked.

"Pracilla is hogging the entire bathroom! She insists on taking a full shower, plus a deep condition," Ash imitated Pracilla's signature soprano when he said 'deep condition', "just because her hand got covered in vomit doesn't mean she can dictate the bathroom schedule."

Cohen soon chimed in, hopping back and forth. "Yeah, I still have to pee. I'm really considering just letting the stream loose in her bed."

"Then it's settled," Maisie clapped her hands together. "We're all voting for Pracilla. Good riddance."

**(ELIMINATION)**

All of the Yankees sat on the roof portion of the RV, a small, controlled fire-pit lit in front of them. Chris stood on the other side of where they were seating, holding a plate of marshmallows. "To keep with tradition, whoever does not receive a marshmallow will be kicked to the curb, and can never come back," he narrowed his eyes to them. "Ever."

After a few moments of silence, he began to speak again. "If I call your name, please come forward. Bea, Corsica, and Reggie." The three rose to their feet, jogging to Chris and grabbing their marshmallows.

"Tom, Kaisa, Cohen, and Drew." Drew and Kaisa fist-pumped, heading to Chris and grabbing their marshmallows. Drew began to use Bea as an armrest, resting his forearm on the top of her head.

"Ash, Maisie, and AJ!" The three came forward, snatching their marshmallows, leaving Miriam and Pracilla. "Ladies, there is one marshmallow left. Miriam, your upchuck inconvenienced your team, and Pracilla, your attitude inconvenienced your team, which is why you are safe Miriam!"

Miriam sighed in relief, approaching her team. Pracilla screamed, rising to her feet and stomping her heel. "You guys are like, useless without me!"

"Tell me, what do you do successfully? Answer quickly." Drew prompted, and when Pracilla fell silent in unfoundedness, Drew nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "There we go."

Pracilla opened and closed her mouth to speak, only to scream yet again, stomping off.

"Like I said, good riddance." Maisie grumbled, waving lazily to Pracilla.

**(HOURS LATER, YANKEES RV)**

After the elimination, the contestants were instructed to head back to the main level, and soon the three RVs began to move toward the location of their next challenge, belonging to the Yankees, the Yee-Haws, and Chris and Chef's respectfully, a venture that would take around a day to complete.

At around 2 AM, Corsica emerged from his bunk, rubbing the back of his head as he ambled into the conjoined kitchen and living room area, surprised to see Tom's figure hunched over his notebook, writing something.

"Getting a snack?" Tom made casual conversation with the male opposite of him, just as Corsica grabbed an apple.

"Yeah, you heading to bed soon?" Corsica followed, not really caring for the answer, but knowing he should at least try to keep up the conversation.

Tom nodded his head. "I should be, I'm just completing some notes." Tom looked up from his notebook to peer at Corsica, regarding him indifferently. "Bea told me about the way you were able to obtain the puzzle pieces, I must say I'm rather impressed. It's good to have such abilities on our team for us to use. They give you strength and make you a figurehead for ability."

Corsica narrowed his eyes, leaning against the doorway that separated the bunk area from the living room. "You don't fool me, you know."

Tom blinked in surprise, tipping his head. "I beg your pardon?"

Corsica tossed his apple in the air, catching it. "I live by theatre and the intricacies of characters. So many people on this team, and in this show, are currently write-off clichés. We expect them to be villains because that's what their personality automatically conveys." He shook his head, hardening his gaze to Tom. "You don't fool me, Tom. The moment you see worthy, you're going to strike. You play a long game, and I respect you for it. Don't make me lose that respect." With that, Corsica took a bite of his apple, slinking back toward his bed and closing the door behind him.

Tom waited a few moments just after Corsica left, a smile blooming onto his features; one of malice, and of venom. The camera focused in on Tom's notebook, where he had begun to flawlessly imitate Corsica's penmanship. "I won't." Tom then ripped out the page, tossing it into the recycling.

"Yet."

_**That's the first episode! I'm SO sorry it's so long. I got sort of carried away, and I hope you read and enjoy it.**_

_**Any predictions? Any favorites? Leave in reviews!**_

_**Let me give you a hint for where the next episode is going next: It's a "TRAIL" of a good time!**_

_**Catch you next episode!**_


	7. Snakes, Shrooms, and Short Tempers!

"Last time on _Total Drama United States,_" Chris began, standing on what appeared to be a nature trail.

Shots from the last episode moved on the screen, supplemented by Chris' narration. "The Yankees and the Yee-Haws split up, some taking on the Empire State Building, and others taking on the American Museum of Natural History."

The next shot was Miriam throwing up into the puzzle pieces bag. "While Miriam was overjoyed to the point of bursting that the Yankees won their advantage in more ways than one..."

Soon, the shot followed Luciana stealing the puzzle pieces, and Corsica making an alliance with Bea. "Luciana snagged the next advantage for the Yee-Haws, but Corsica managed to secure an alliance with idealistic Bea and Mr. Velvet Pipes Drew!"

Finally, the shots ended on Pracilla sticking her hand in Miriam's vomit bag and walking off stage. "Ultimately, it was Pracilla's mean attitude and refusal to help the Yankees assemble the puzzle that got her booted."

Chris finally stopped beside a sign indicating various directions, though it was unclear where he was. "Will the Yankees snag the victory this episode? Will Daryl say something that makes sense? Find this out and more on this episode of _Total! Drama! United States!_" The camera panned out, revealing Chris on none of than the Appalachian Trail.

**(INSTRUMENTAL OF THEME SONG)**

The instrumental began with a plane landing in the United States, and Chris emerging from the plane with a huge grin on his face and waving an American flag.

**(DEAR MOM AND DAD I'M DOING FINE, YOU GUYS ARE ON MY MIND)**

The camera followed Chris through John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2x speed, until he eventually ended up outside signing autographs to rabid fans, leaving Chef to carry their bags, all while holding pamphlets about what to do in New York City. As Chef put down one of the suitcases, one of the pamphlets flew away in the breeze.

**(YOU ASK ME WHAT I WANTED TO BE, NOW I THINK THE ANSWER IS PLAIN TO SEE)**

The pamphlet drifted into a body of water in Central Park, only to be caught on a hook and reeled it. The other side of the hook was revealed to be Cohen, who huffed at his catch. The camera panned over to Bubba, who reeled in a rather large fish with a beam on his face.

**(I WANNA BE FAMOUS)**

The camera moved across Central Park to Reggie and Mira, who were throwing a football back and forth to each other. Reggie signaled for Mira to go long, launching the ball from his grip. Mira jumped for it, ultimately missing and watching it hit a cop as he rode by on a bike, sending him to the ground. He got up, immediately heading toward the two, prompting them to run away in terror. They ran across the entrance of the Metropolitan Art Museum, and when they moved inside, the camera followed.

**(I WANNA LIVE CLOSE TO THE SUN)**

Meredith and Tonia pondered over a Van Gogh self-portrait, Meredith appearing to be rambling about the history of the piece to Tonia, who flipped out her camera to begin to vlog. When they saw Reggie and Mira move by, they paused in confusion, especially when the cop followed. However, the cop stopped when he saw Tonia, removing a notepad to get her autograph.

Meredith huffed, stepping outside of the Met, just for her Met brochure to fly away, which the camera followed.

**(SO PACK YOUR BAGS BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY WON)**

The Met brochure flew towards Chinatown, stopping when it hit a window to a tea shop. Mitch, Daryl, and Ash were inside, idly looking over tea leaves. When Daryl whipped out a bowl to try and pack the tea leaves in it like they were bud, Mitch face-palmed, Ash staring in awe as Mitch took the bowl and threw it in the trash, just as it was being taken out, and loaded into a garbage truck.

**(EVERYTHING TO PROVE NOTHING IN MY WAY, I'LL GET THERE ONE DAY)**

The garbage truck eventually passed through Times Square, with Pracilla and Maisie ambling from shop to shop with bags in her hand, the camera then moving to Brianna and Hayato as they got a picture together with someone pretending to be Spiderman. Once Pracilla, Brianna, Hayato, and Maisie all got back together, they gaped at Sophie trying to put the same Spiderman into a headlock, rushing over to her, hoping to pull her off. The camera then followed a taxi as it drove by.

**('CAUSE I WANNA BE FAMOUS)**

The camera followed the taxi to New York Public Library, where Tom and AJ got out, already whipping out their notebooks in excitement. As AJ opened her notebook to begin to speak to Tom, Kaisa appeared out of nowhere, removing something from AJ's pocket and getting into the taxi they had arrived in.

**(NA NA NA...)**

The taxi moved to Broadway, and Kaisa got out, entering the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway as Alex was playing the piano, and Drew was singing lovingly to an adoring audience, to which Kaisa rolled her eyes.

**(I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS!)**

The camera moved down the block to the Neil Simon Theatre, where Bea and Miriam were on-stage, laughing as they did the macarena and turned themselves to the side.

**(I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS!)**

The camera moved Corsica exiting the stage door of the Neil Simon Theatre, appearing to have just gotten off stage prior to when Bea and Miriam started dancing. With a longing expression on his face, he peered upward to the top of the Empire State Building.

**(WHISTLES)**

The camera moved to the top of the Empire State Building, where Luciana and Kyle sat on lawn-chairs, clinking two bottles of Coke together. Suddenly, Luciana pointed to the sky, hitting Kyle on the arm to get his attention.

In the sky, a plane came by, a banner saying "_Total Drama: United States_" flying behind it.

**(EPISODE START)**

The episode started inside of the Yee-Haw's RV, where Kyle and Luciana danced around the small kitchenette area, both in their pajamas. Kyle wore a blue tank top and his red boxers, and Luciana was dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a baggy, AC/DC t-shirt. Soft music played from the speaker, the song appearing to be "911/Mr. Lonely" by Tyler, the Creator.

"_Huevo me, hombre._" Luciana held her hand out to Kyle, just as the male passed her a brown egg, which she cracked over a small convection stove into the skillet below.

Sophie ambled from the bunks, her hair sticking out in every-which direction, adorned in a blue-white oversized jersey that fit the small female more like a dress. "Breakfast?" She hummed, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Hey, Sophie. Good morning." Kyle greeted, just as he was brewing another pot of coffee. "We have eggs, scrambled, and bacon."

Sophie took the seat next to Bubba, who was already dressed and eagerly awaiting yet another plate of eggs. "How long have you guys been awake?" She asked, the energy starting to return to her voice.

Luciana shrugged, looking over at the clock hung on the wall. "Kyle and I didn't really sleep. We chilled out in here and talked the entire night." She began to move the egg she had in the skillet around with a spatula, bobbing back and forth to the beat of the music.

Sophie narrowed her eyes suspiciously, folding her eyes over her chest. "Just... talking?" With that, her brows raised suggestively.

Luciana and Kyle caught drift of her innuendo, and glanced to each other, only to burst out laughing. "Jesus, no." Kyle laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.

Luciana plated the egg she had scrambled, sliding it over to Bubba, who automatically began to dig in. "Kyle and I both are both gay, we're just homies." She reassured Sophie with a wink, looking to Bubba. "How are the eggs, Bubba?"

Bubba held a thumbs-up, smiling in content. "Five stars, chef!"

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Sophie began to tuck her hair into her hat, shaking her head. "Luciana and Kyle are dangerous. Two days here and it's like they are a married couple. That's something I can take advantage of..." Sophie trailed off, smiling mysteriously. "If they say no, that's something I can squash."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

In the Yankees RV, the campers were already awake, most of them hustling between the bathroom and the kitchenette area to grab coffee. Despite the grandiose nature of the RV, there was still the problem of there being a single bathroom, and said bathroom doubling as its intentional use, and as a confessional.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Corsica applied his lipstick, with Bea beside him, who gingerly applies mascara to her thick eyelashes. To her left was Drew, who was finishing washing his face.

"What's up _Total Drama_, it's your favorite alliance trio getting ready for the day and discussing strategy." Drew made weird, 90s hip-hop-esque gestures, involving rock'n'roll hand signs, and folding his arms over his chest.

Bea hit the Milly Rock flawlessly, before resuming to apply mascara once more. "We were discussing adding Tom and AJ to the alliance, but Corsica convinced me to scale them back just being involved for vote numbers, and not letting them in on the whole discussion process."

Corsica fluffed his hair in the mirror, nodding his head in confirmation to Bea's words. "The driver said we were about an hour from our location. Where do you think we're going?"

Bea shuddered, removing the mascara from her eye area. "Hopefully the place doesn't have cockroaches."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

The three exited from the bathroom, only to be met with Kaisa on the other side of the door with a towel draped over her shoulder, who regarded them skeptically.

"We were conserving water by all showering together." Drew immediately vouched, only to be met by Corsica slapping him upside of the head.

"Nice try, but you three aren't even wet." Kaisa scoffed, using the towel to gingerly whip Drew on the arm, brushing by them to enter the bathroom.

The camera panned over the living room area, where Miriam was curled up on the couch, with Maisie and Reggie seated next to her.

"Are you going to eat anything?" Reggie asked, offering his granola bar to Miriam, who was seated to her left.

Miriam silently shook her head, curling into herself even more, which made Maisie huff. "Get over it, Miriam. You were saved from elimination, the only person who voted for you was Pracilla, and she's gone. No one else in this RV wanted you gone."

Miriam placed her coffee cup down on the glass table in front of her, shaking her head. "I don't know, it's just weird to shake that I was almost gone for a second, on the first episode nonetheless!"

"Trust me," Reggie clapped her on the back, flashing her a confident grin. "You'll get over this funk. You have this challenge to prove how strong you are to yourself, because I can guarantee you that each of us already see it."

Miriam processed his words, her features softening as the corners of her lips rose. "Thanks, both of you. Sorry, I get stuck in these funks. I have to do better, and I'll let this challenge be my incentive, and I'll guide us to victory. We won't be on that roof voting one of our own out this week."

"Here, here!" Maisie raised her coffee cup, and the couch trio clanked mugs together.

Suddenly, the intercoms crinkled, and Chris' voice rang over the other end. "Yankees, Yee-Haws, we are approaching our destination in 45 minutes! Get dressed, and showered, and cleaned, it'll be hard to do that where we are going."

**(APPALACHIAN TRAIL)**

Chris stood at the entrance of Virginia's Appalachian Trail, his arms folded over his chest as he leered at both teams in front of him. Chris had two camping packs beside him, filled to the brim, and appearing quite straining on the shoulders.

"Welcome, to the Appalachian Trail! We figured you city folk would have a nice reaction to seeing so much greenery," Chris narrowed his eyes to Daryl, "not the kind you are probably used to.."

Daryl's shoulders slumped, as his head shook in melancholy.

"But regardless, this challenge will push your teamwork even further, and test your outdoor skills, because this week, you will be camping! With no technology at your whim, you will have to get your own food, build your own fire, and find your own way to your campsites and back here using your maps and compasses! First team back will receive immunity!" Chris explained, gesturing to the packs below him.

"Yee-Haws, since you won the last challenge, you'll be receiving an advantage that'll be revealed once you get to your campsite." Chris snapped his fingers, Chef approaching from off frame adorned in an all-khaki get up, holding two maps. He threw one to the Yee-Haws, which was caught by Daryl, and to the Yankees, which was caught by Kaisa.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Daryl smiled in satisfaction, exhaling in glee. "Finally, a challenge in which I can be connected to the Mother. I have hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail in my past journey, so I know I can be of use this time."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I can read a map. Do you think I use Apple Maps to complete high-scale robberies?" Kaisa scoffed, her eyes suddenly widening. "But I've never done that, I'm a law-abiding citizen."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAMS)**

As the teams embarked on their quests, they left Chris and Chef behind. Chris remained in all of his smug glory, while Chef watched the two teams amble off, confusion spread over his features. "Hey Chris, did you forget to tell them about the storm coming tonight?"

Chris feigned surprise, his mouth falling open and his eyes widening. "What? Oh, no! I guess I left that out..."

The two began to chuckle sinisterly, just as the camera faded to black for a commercial break.

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

The Yee-Haws scoured the trail, led none only by Daryl, who glanced up and down from the map, to the trail in front of him.

"It's kind of nice to see Daryl quiet for once." Sophie conversed with Mitch. Mitch nodded his head, his eyes widening in agreement.

"This morning, he went on this tangent about the power of the self, and how this translates into green smoothies he drinks." Mitch murmured, earning a chuckle from Sophie.

Behind Sophie and Mitch, Tonia sighed in annoyance from beside Bubba, Luciana, and Kyle. "I'm so not used to the elements." She pouted, glancing over to Bubba.

"I just wish I ate more breakfast before coming." Bubba followed, pausing his steps as Kyle hiked the Yee-Haw's backpack further up his shoulders. "You sore there, Kyle?"

"Nah, man. I've got raw strength on my side. Plus, Mira said she'd trade off with me around halfway." Kyle reassured him, glancing to Luciana and elbowing her in the ribs. "How long do you'll think she'll go without yelling at someone?"

Wordlessly, Luciana held her hand up, counting down on her fingers from 5, when she hit 0, Mira's voice sounded from behind them.

"Y'all city dwellers better speed up! I don't care how purty the forest is, it's trees! Y'all can stand and oggle at trees another time!" Mira yelled to Meredith and Alex specifically, who were avidly discussing the beauty of the foliage around them.

This alarmed Brianna and Hayato, who were lost in each other's conversation, and soon caught up with the rest of the group from the very back.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Mira's very sure of herself, that's for sure. But, she's got to get a handle on her temper. Her strength will only save her so many times before one begins to outweigh the other." Alex grumbled.

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

On the Yankees side, Kaisa and AJ guided the Yankees through their portion of the trail, followed closely behind by Tom.

"Only around 4 of the thousands of people who attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail make it all the way through." AJ revealed, seemingly having been in the middle of an Appalachian-themed fact babble.

"That's very interesting, did you know that we now technically qualify as section-hikers due to us completing a section of the trail?" Tom followed, much to AJ's excitement. She turned to Tom, beginning to walk backwards.

"Wow! I can write about how I hiked the Appalachian Trail in my school paper! As well as...you know, being in Total Drama!" She beamed, Tom replying with a more muted grin.

Behind them, Corsica scowled in Tom's direction. "God, he's so fake." He seethed, much to Bea's surprise.

"You really think so? I think he's kind. Sure, he has a cooler exterior, but I think everyone has a capability of goodness. Some people are just pigeon-holed to be a certain stereotype because they feel as if they need to fit a role." Bea tried to justify.

Corsica nodded, reaching over and patting Bea's head. "Listen, hun, your idealism is charming when it needs to be. Just trust me, Tom is a snake, and if you get caught in his path and he bites, don't expect me to suck the venom out." Corsica began to walk ahead.

Bea frowned, only to be met with Drew's hand on her shoulder, who had opted to catch up with them. "Your idealism is cute. You're like...You're like a baby bird. Or a small rabbit."

"Those animals are all eaten by the snake, historically." Bea pointed out, raising her brows, only to be met with Drew's awkward chuckle and grin.

Cohen groaned loudly, dragging his feet along the trail. "I hate walking." He complained.

Ash fumbled with his watch, bringing it close to his face to observe the time. "We've only been walking for like 45 minutes."

This made Cohen groan even louder. Miriam heard this, starting to clap her hands. "We've got this, Yankees! Let's get immunity this week!" She tried to motivate, earning chuckles from Reggie and Maisie.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Okay, so the cheerleader role isn't really the best for me." Miriam sufficed, rolling her eyes. "I just had to wait to get to the campsite to delegate myself as leader."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

The Yankees approached their campsite, Kaisa rolling up the map and taking in the scene. "Yup, this is it. Let's get a fire going. Reggie? Can you open the pack and see what's in it?"

Reggie plopped the backpack down, opening the pack and removing a flint and steel, a single canteen, a pot, a knife, and tent gear. "Dope, that's more than the campers got on their first season of _Total Drama_."

Miriam cracked her knuckles, standing in front of her team. "I move that we delegate people on certain duties so we can easily get our set-up complete. I think we need to focus on getting our shelter set up first, and then the fire."

Kaisa snorted, rolling her eyes. "Okay, sweetheart, clearly this is your first rodeo. You always want to get a fire going, and then focus on shelter. Fire means food, getting clean water, and warmth."

AJ loudly cleared her throat, alerting both girls to her. "Well, I think whatever we need to do, it needs to be done quickly, because there's a pretty unforgiving looking cumulonimbus cloud coming toward us." She pointed West, a mass of grey clouds in the distance.

"Okay then!" Miriam smiled, pointing to Maisie, Reggie, and Corsica. "You three go get food," she then gestured to Bea, Ash, Cohen, and Drew. "You four set the tent up." Finally, she alerted to Kaisa. "We'll get the fire going, and Tom and AJ will go find water."

AJ and Tom were the first ones to disperse from the group, taking the canteen and pot with them. "It's very interesting to see the give and exchange of power between those two." Tom observed once they were far enough away.

"What do you mean by that?" AJ crossed, turning her full attention to Tom.

Tom rubbed his chin, appearing to be lost in thought. "The two are both independent women bent on overcompensation. Their aggression and desire for leadership comes from a place of yearning to prove themselves to be better than they think themselves to be."

AJ followed his words, glancing over her shoulder and watching as her team's figures became mere outlines.

**(YEE-HAWS)**

Daryl's knowledge of the outdoors had been more than forgiving for the Yee-Haws, as they already had their fire started, and were working on finding clean water.

However, when Tonia reached into the backpack, her brows furrowed in confusion as she didn't appear to find what she was looking for. "Guys, do we have a tarp for the tent?" She asked, turning over her shoulder to look at Alex and Meredith, who were both busy setting it up.

"I didn't see one when I got the tent out." Alex replied, his eyes widening in realization. "Crap, that's the advantage, our backpacks must have been switched."

"We don't have something to put on top of our tent? Oh no, and it looks like it's going to rain." Meredith pointed out, the corners of her lips drawing downward in a worried frown.

Daryl removed himself from sitting in front of the fire, regarding the trio before him. "Perhaps this is what Mother intended for us. We can feel her entire wavelength if we put our hearts to the soil below."

Sophie groaned, drawing the bill of her hat further down her face. "No one knows what you're talking about. Now go make yourself useful and go get us some food before it rains!" She commanded, prompting Daryl to shrug his shoulders, ambling into the woods.

Brianna and Hayato emerged from the other side of the campsite, holding the canteen and the pot. "H-Hayato and I got water!" She sang, stepping toward the campfire, only to drip over a root that meandered through the campsite, the pot of water falling out of her hands and onto the ground below her.

"Damn it, Brianna! Now you have to go all the way back to get it refilled." Sophie growled, rising to her feet and gesturing to the mess below her.

Hayato stepped in front of Brianna protectively, narrowing his eyes. "Relax, Sophie. It was an accident. I'll go grab the water." He plucked the pot from the ground, handing off the canteen to Brianna.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I-It was really nice for Hayato to stand up for me. It reminded me of when we were kids..." Brianna trailed off, her cheeks turning pink. Once she realized she was still in front of the camera, she awkwardly giggled, rubbing the back of her head.

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

The sun had started to set, the thunder starting to boom in the distance. The Yee-Haws were huddled around their fire, all of them looking up to see Mira and Daryl emerge from the forest, Mira holding fish, and Daryl's shirt acting as a carrying device for mushrooms.

"Alright y'all, I can de-scale the fish and get it carved up using the knife Chris gave us, Daryl has some weird mushrooms that y'all can eat." Mira announced, plopping down next to Tonia. Removing the knife, she began to de-scale the fish, expertly carving along the necessary bones to make the fish easier to eat, before she tossed it into the pot dangling over the fire to cook.

Kyle and Luciana approached Daryl, holding their hands out. "We're starving. We could only distract ourselves with Tonia discussing her Internet history for too long."

Daryl placed a mushroom into their hands, which Luciana and Kyle clinked together in a toast, before automatically starting to eat. "Earthy." Kyle commented, nodding his head before he swallowed it.

Tipping his head, Daryl looked down at the mushrooms, his eyes widening in shock. "Children of Mother, the forest gives us opportunities to feel Her aura via natural hallucinogens. Mushrooms are a good way to do so, and they happen to look identical to the mushrooms I picked for us to eat..."

Luciana swallowed, freezing as she processed Daryl's words. "So...you're telling me there's a possibility I could start tripping balls?!" She whispered, grabbing Daryl by the shirt collar.

Daryl waved his hands in surrender, shaking his head. "Do not think of it as tripping, think of it as becoming closer to Mother's vision to total enlightenment. You will realize in around an hour which one you took."

Luciana released Daryl, taking in Kyle's appearance. She groaned, looking up to the sky. "Well f***."

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

Rain started to pitter-patter against the Yankees' tent, which was luckily covered by a tarp. Inside were well-fed and hydrated Yankees, all in a circle.

"Okay, Drew. Truth or dare?" Cohen asked the male seated across from her in the circle.

"Easy, truth." Drew shot back in a nonchalant manner, leaning back against his hands.

"Who is the hottest person on our team?" Cohen asked, everyone snickering in response.

Drew leaned up, rubbing his chin as he thought about his answer for a moment. "Miriam." He replied firmly with a nod of his head toward the girl.

This made Miriam smirk, shaking her head. "I'm not looking for anything here, and if I was, trust me Drew, you would be the last person I would seek that from."

Drew pretended to faint, Bea fake-fanning him. The atmosphere in the tent was broken by a loud clap of thunder, making Ash yelp in surprise.

"It's all good! We only have around..." Ash paused, checking his watch and doing some math within his head. "7 hours left, if we want to leave here around 7 AM."

"7 hours?" AJ paled, burying her face within her hands. "I'm not the biggest fan of thunderstorms."

Tom reached into the bag behind him, producing a small lantern and putting it in the middle of the group. "I can logistically state that we are more than likely doing better than our opponents."

"Yeah!" Reggie asserted; a positive smile plastered on his handsome features. "Think about this positively. We are well-fed, hydrated, and we aren't going to get wet because of the tarp. It's just 7 hours of us hanging out together, what could possibly go wrong?"

Thunder boomed even louder, lightning highlighting the rapidly moving branches beyond the fabric of the tent.

"Try not to make it sound like everything is going to go wrong." Maisie mumbled to Reggie.

**(YEE-HAWS)**

Inside of the Yee-Haw's tent, Kyle's eyes remained transfixed onto Mitch's shirt, his jaw agape as he witnessed the nuances of Jason's mask bend and turn before his very eyes. Extending his hand, Kyle stroked the front of Mitch's shirt. "I can feel your suffering, hockey man." Kyle whispered.

Mitch regarded Kyle suspiciously, turning to Meredith, Bubba, and Alex. "Why is he copping a feel on my shirt?"

Bubba leaned forward, looking deeply into Kyle's eyes. "His pupils are huge. You don't think he's..." He trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence without incriminating Kyle too harshly.

"High?" Meredith finished, tapping her chin. "Historically, hallucinogenic mushrooms have been easily mistaken for regular mushrooms due to similar appearance. So, I think whoever ate the mushrooms may be high." She then turned to Alex. "Did you see anyone else eat those mushrooms?"

Alex shook his head, gesturing outside of the tent. "Just Luciana. But I haven't seen her in a little bit."

Mitch scrambled to his feet, his head thrashing back and forth inside of the tent. "Did any of you guys see if she wandered off after she said she had to pee?!" When he was met with silence, Mitch groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I'll go look."

Mitch clambered from the tent, only to be met with a massive downfall of rain, and Sophie and Daryl stacking large leaves on top of the tent. "Have you guys seen Luciana?!" He called, having to raise his voice.

Sophie held her hat down as a large gust of wind pummeled her small frame. "She went to go pee like 10 minutes ago!"

Mitch gestured angrily to Daryl, narrowing his eyes. "The poster boy for Birkenstocks gave Luciana and Kyle shrooms, and now they're high, and Luciana is nowhere to be found."

Sophie whipped around to face Daryl, her small hands moving into fists. "God, I was just starting to think you were useful!" She crowed.

Out of Mitch's periphery, Brianna, Hayato, Tonia, and Mira re-entered camp, each of them holding foliage meant for the roof. Mitch jogged to them, waving his hands desperately. "Did you guys see Luciana?"

Brianna shook her head, cringing as lightning illuminated the sky a pale blue. Mitch bit down harshly on his lower lip, pointing to Tonia. "Luciana's tripping and lost in the woods because of Daryl," he flashed a hateful look back toward the male. "Tonia, stay behind with Meredith, Bubba, and Alex, don't let Kyle leave unless you follow him. The rest of us have to go look for Luciana."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Listen, I've seen about every horror movie there is to offer. Someone being alone, in the middle of the night in the woods, as well as it raining, AND them being high? That automatically spells disaster to me. I knew we had to find Luciana before someone else did." Mitch nodded his head firmly. "It was time for me to step up."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

On the Yankees side, Kaisa emerged from the safety of the tent, cringing as rain began to pelt the exposed portions of her skin, feeling more like needles than raindrops. Extending her arm, she held out the canteen, listening to the raindrops vociferously rattle the metal container.

Despite the sheer volume of the rain, the vague whisper of branches snapping behind her made Kaisa jump, her muscles tensing defensively as her eyes scanned over the vast expanse of forest. "Yo, if you're a bear, I can take you!" She yelled into the woods.

What emerged from the woods wasn't a bear at all. In some ways, a bear would have been easier to explain to her teammates than who came from the woods.

"Luciana?!" Kaisa sputtered, taken aback by seeing a member of the opposing team at their camp, especially in her state. Her white shorts were splattered with mud, as well as her legs and arms. Goosebumps rose along her exposed skin, Luciana's body shaking in tremors that made her eyes shut.

Hesitantly, Kaisa approached the female, narrowing her eyes to her. "You're a bit far from Yee-Haw territory."

Luciana emitted a string of slurred chuckles, her head lolling from side to side. "I am just allowing myself to be freed of society. You feel me? I am labelled just by looking the way I do, and now I feel like... Like I'm ethereal."

Given Kaisa's lifestyle, it wasn't hard for her to comprehend the pattern of behavior that Luciana was exhibiting as being characteristic of taking hallucinogens. "Okay, you need to get inside." Kaisa wrapped an arm around the girl, helping guide her to the tent.

Inside, most of the Yankees had started to settle down, Cohen being fast asleep and snoring. Kaisa ushered Luciana inside, shocking the people that were wide awake, more specifically Maisie and Reggie.

"Woah! Time-out, did you pick up a stray or something?" Maisie teased, taking note of Luciana's rather disheveled appearance.

"Is she...okay?" Reggie dropped his voice to a low murmur, not wanting to offend Luciana by insinuating anything about her character.

Kaisa forced Luciana to sit, automatically starting to rub down Luciana's arms to help her regain some body warmth. "She's tripping balls and got lost in the woods. I'm assuming her team is looking for her right now, but with the rate the storm is moving, there's no way they'll be able to complete their search party. So, for now, we are plus one."

Reggie was quick to accept this, starting to allow himself to relax into a sleeping position. "Wake me up if you need anything."

Maisie was slower to accept this, seeing nothing wrong with leaving Luciana in the rain, given the fact that she was on the other team. But, eventually, she lowered herself down so she could fall asleep.

Kaisa forced her canteen to Luciana's lips, aiding the female in swallowing and drinking the water. "God you owe me so big if we merge. Plus, you're on TV. Your parents are probably going to kill you for seeing you trip."

Luciana shook her head, some of the water dribbling down her chin. With a roll of her eyes, Kaisa aided in cleaning this off with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Luciana squirmed, the texture of the sweatshirt being too soft against her skin.

"My mom's in the slammer, and your face is moving." Luciana revealed, her eyes widening as Kaisa's face bent and contorted like it was a Snapchat filter.

At this reveal, Kaisa fell quiet, her knees curling to her chest as she took in this part of Luciana's life. The reveal that Luciana's mom was in jail didn't make her uncomfortable, as much as the fact that she probably wouldn't ever know this information if Luciana had been sober. The reveal in hallucinogenic-delirium wasn't Kaisa's place to hear to begin with.

"It's going to last a bit, but the best thing you can do is just try to sleep." Kaisa laid down, staring up at the ceiling of the tent. Luciana mimicked the girl's movements, soon laying next to her. "Oh no, my team is going to kill me..."

**(YEE-HAWS)**

"Luciana!" Hayato cupped his hands over his mouth, yelling into the forest. Behind him, a symphony of yells followed, belonging to Mitch, Mira, Sophie, Daryl, and Brianna. Sophie wiped the lantern in front of them, the muted glow of yellow illuminating the harsh conditions in front of them.

"Y'all! It's no use, we have to go back." Mira acknowledged, moving her fingers through her soaked, brown hair.

Sophie peeked at Mira through the brim of her hat, which was the one thing keeping her face and some of her hair dry. "And do what? Leave her behind?"

Veins in Mira's neck clenched as she gestured around them, and to the sky. "Do you see this, Sophie?! I can barely even tell you're in front of me! How are we gonna get Luciana, and get back to camp? We'll find her when the conditions clear up!"

"Are you kidding me?" Mitch interjected, moving to stand beside Sophie. "She's by herself facing the elements."

Daryl lifted a hand, shaking his head. "Technically, she is not alone, she has the power of Mother on her side to act as a spiritual guide through the raw nature of the emotional stat-"

Sophie began igniting in shushes, beginning to stomp away from Daryl. "Shut. UP! No one know what you are TALKING about!"

From the sidelines, Brianna and Hayato paused, Brianna's arms curled to her chest as she shivered, averting her gaze to the ground to avoid too much rain getting into her eyes. "I-Is Luciana going to be okay?" Her soft voice barely at a volume for Hayato to comprehend.

Hayato looked down to the female, hesitantly extended an arm out and wrapping it around her. "Of course, she'll be fine. We'll just go find her when the rain clears up, and we can see more than 2 feet in front of us."

Brianna scrunched up her nose, worry plaguing her features. However, she relaxed against Hayato's touch, her body reclining into his. "I-I wonder how Kyle is..."

Back at the Yee-Haw camp, Alex mimed playing the piano, with Kyle bobbing from side to side. "I've always admired Mozart..." He slurred, making Alex glance over his shoulder in worry to Meredith.

Meredith took this opportunity to free Alex from "piano-playing duty", sitting in front of Kyle. "Alright, Kyle, what's on your mind?"

Before Kyle had a real grasp on what his thoughts were, he began speaking. "What is a mind? If we take a brain out of someone and put it into another person, who do we see? The body or the mind first? So does it really matter what's on my mind, for I may not even be here right now, in this moment, with all of you." He rambled, leaving his friends in stunned silence. "Also, the scene in Aladdin when the cave talks."

Amidst the silence, Bubba and Tonia began to clap, exchanging incredulous looks with each other. "What a philosophical sentiment! Brava!" Tonia beamed.

Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing quietly. "Please let this night end..."

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

To say that the Yankees were surprised to wake up and see a very hungover-like Luciana was an understatement. However, this led Corsica to the epiphany that if she was with them, the Yee-Haws would automatically lose the challenge. So, he warmed up quickly to the female's presence.

"It's sort of nice to be free of Mira's yelling for a little bit." Luciana commented idly to Tom and AJ as they walked back toward where Chris had told them to go to.

Seeing this as an opportunity to learn about the dynamic of the other team, Tom pressed forward. "I am assuming that she takes on a leadership role for your team?"

Luciana shook her head, sticking her hands in her pockets. "Nah, that's mainly Sophie. Everyone on the team is chill, Brianna and Hayato eye-screw each other every day, and Tonia pretends to vlog like she's a coke addict going through withdrawal or something."

She was about to continue talking, when AJ stopped her. "I-I actually think Kaisa wanted something, you should go see what it is."

Luciana's brows bunched together, as she didn't hear her name being called, but she shrugged, jogging forward to catch up with Kaisa. AJ turned to him sternly, staring him down in indignation.

"Tom, stop taking advantage of Luciana. She's been nothing but nice." She scolded.

Tom feigned innocence, placing a hand to his heart. "I was merely making conversation. We may come together for a merge, and if I have the backbone of this interaction, it will be easier for us to click for voting purposes later."

Corsica caught whiff of this and scoffed, elbowing Drew in the ribs. "If we make it to the merge, there is no way Tom is picking up Luciana. She's going to be with us."

Drew tipped his head, a skeptical hum escaping him. "I don't know, dude, she's pretty tight with that Kyle guy. I have a feeling it would be hard breaking her from the Yee-Haws if we all made it to the merge."

"Yeah," Bea added, tying her black hair into a ponytail. "Are you sure you aren't just wanting Luciana just because Tom does?"

Corsica shot Bea a sour look, Bea automatically murmuring an apology.

"Fellas! We made it!" Ash hollered from the front upon seeing Chris' frame in the clearing, as well as the figures of the rest of the Yee-Haws.

The Yankees charged forward, Reggie tossing the pack down to Chris' feet.

"Contestants, that...was awesome!" Chris gushed with hysterical laughter. "From the rain, to Daryl giving Kyle and Luciana shrooms!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "You can't beat that. But, rules are rules. I said all members of the team had to be back in order for there to be victory, and one Yee-Haw just got added back to the ranch."

Chris gestured for Luciana to rejoin her team, and she slunk over to Kyle, met with a few harsh glances from Mira and Sophie.

"Which means the Yankees are the winners of this week's challenge!"

The Yankees erupted in cheers, which juxtaposed drastically with the Yee-Haw's silence. Chris pointed to the Yee-Haws, pointing his thumb to their RV. "Yee-Haws, get showered and get ready to vote out one of your own."

**(YEE-HAWS RV)**

"Let's be honest with ourselves, it's going be me. My dumbass just had to wander off." Luciana hinted to Kyle, popping an Advil into her mouth and chasing it with a gulp of water.

"What? No way. You wouldn't have wandered off if Daryl didn't drug us. He should be the one going home, not you." Kyle denied, rising to his feet. "Just let me handle this, alright?"

Kyle patted his friend on the shoulder, the bags beneath his eyes obvious in the fluorescent luminescence of the RV. He headed outside of the RV, where Meredith, Bubba, Alex, and Tonia were seated.

"Who were you guys wanting to vote off?" Kyle inquired, plopping down next to Alex.

"Daryl." Alex responded with no hesitation, moving his fingers through his hair. "We took care of you last night, you were out of your mind. Luciana can't be held accountable to the extent that Daryl can. Plus, I could deal without Daryl ragging on me for taking a bite of bacon or eggs."

"Luciana has more...It factor than Daryl. I trust her to perform more in challenges." Tonia allowed herself to do jazz hands as she said the word 'it', before folding her arms over her chest.

Bubba soon chimed in, drumming his fingers along the side of the RV. "Yeah, you and Luciana cook the best eggs, and Daryl's green smoothie smells like death. How will I be expected to survive without breakfast?"

Inside the bunk area, Mitch, Sophie, Mira, Brianna, and Hayato also discussed elimination. "Y'all, it has to be Luciana. If she didn't get lost, then we wouldn't be here right now." Mira surmised, earning agreement from both Brianna and Hayato.

"Dude, Daryl totally drugged her though. She wasn't told until after the fact that she consumed them, what kind of person allows their own teammate to just drug themselves?" Mitch cross-examined, looking to Sophie to back up his statement.

She was about to open her mouth to speak, when Daryl exited the bathroom, steam pouring from when he had taken his shower. The steam soon faded, revealing a very naked Daryl in its wake.

Hayato's hands flew over Brianna's eyes, and Sophie groaned in disgust. "Why don't you have a damn towel?!" She yelled, hopping down from her bunk bed ready to fight.

Daryl extended his arms, closing his eyes. "I am having skin to skin contact with Mother. Her radiance shines through me-"

Sophie began to viciously shush him again, her finger moving from her lips to him. "Shut, the f***, up, DARYL!"

Daryl shrugged, grabbing his clothes from his bed, and soon heading back to the bathroom to change.

Mitch hopped down from Sophie's bed, wordlessly starting toward the kitchenette. "I'm going to plunge my eyes out with a butter knife."

**(YEE-HAW ELIMINATION)**

Identically to the Yankees elimination two days prior, the Yee-Haws were seated in front of Chris, the two groups separated by a small fire in front of them. "Whenever you get a marshmallow, you will be kicked off the RV, and never to return again. Ever!" Chris emphasized, narrowing his eyes to the team. "First marshmallow goes to...Mitch."

Mitch pumped his fist in the air, jogging to grab the marshmallow. "Brianna, Hayato, Mira." The three then joined Alex, Brianna and Hayato smiling to each other, making Mira gag.

"Tonia, Sophie, Bubba." Tonia squealed in excitement, hugging Bubba and heading over to Chris. Tonia handed Bubba her marshmallow, which he happily consumed, and Sophie stood with placid confidence.

"Alex and Meredith." The two high-fived, joining the rest of the team, and leaving Kyle, Luciana, and Daryl behind. "Kyle." Chris spoke, Kyle glancing a reassuring glance over his shoulder to Luciana before joining the team.

"There is only one marshmallow left. The person that gets this marshmallow and can continue with Total Drama United States is..." Chris paused for dramatic effect

"Luciana."

Luciana sighed in relief, rising to her feet and jogging to Kyle's side, fist-bumping him, the two of them throwing their marshmallows into each other's mouths.

Daryl frowned, but soon regained his composure. "Life has many journeys for me. The state of this team reflects many growing and shrinking consciousness minds." Before Daryl could continue his ramble, Chris coughed.

"Alright, dude, we get it. Please, just get off before Sophie breaks your knee-cap." Chris turned to the remaining Yee-Haws. "The rest of you, get some sleep, our next challenge begins tomorrow morning!"

**(GAS STATION)**

Around midnight, the three RVs stopped to get some gas, prompting Kaisa to exit in much need of some beef jerky.

"Yo! Kaisa!" A voice stopped Kaisa's journey, and she turned, only to be met with Luciana's figure.

Kaisa appeared amused, her hands resting on her hips. "You made it through elimination! Glad to see it."

Luciana stopped in front of her, looking down to the female in front of her. "Yeah, me too. There was a moment where I thought that I was a goner for sure." Luciana's smile fell, and she rubbed the back of her neck. "I just wanted to say thanks for like, rescuing me from the harsh elements. I'm not too good with articulating my words, so just know that it's genuine."

A sly chuckle parted from Kaisa's full lips, her hand moving gingerly along Luciana's arm. "Don't sweat it, kay?" She stepped back, winking to her opponent. "See you on the battlefield, Yee-Haw." With that, Kaisa departed from Luciana.

Luciana, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed in amusement, began to amble back to her own RV. "Don't be so cocky, Yankee."

When Luciana came inside, she was met by Kyle on the couch, a bemused grin on his face as he waggled his brows to his companion. "That light arm touch was suave on her part."

Luciana rolled her eyes, swatting Kyle's arm. She plopped down next to him, her head leaning on his shoulder. "Shut up." She grumbled, her eyes sliding shut. Kyle rolled his eyes, leaning his head against hers.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Luciana is sort of my best homie around here. I can't really imagine going through this competition without her." Kyle admitted, automatically shaking his own head. "Man, I hope she never sees this. She'll roast me for being as soft as the marshmallows we're given at elimination."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

_**And with that, episode 2 is done! What are your reactions? Anymore predictions? Review down below!**_

_**I know you're all wondering why I'm cranking these episodes out so fast. The thing is, I go to work June 1st, and I work as a counselor at a summer camp until August. So, I want to get at least three episodes out to you guys before I head off, and I can tell you for a fact, the next episode is going to be more dramatic.**_

_**Here's a hint for the location. I don't mean to "Bragg", but it's in my home-state!**_

_**Thanks everyone!**_


	8. Over A Hill and Over Another One!

"Previously on _Total Drama: United States._.." Chris began, standing in front of a beige-hued Visitor Center.

Clips from last episode began to file across the screen, accompanied by Chris' voiceover. "Our teams hiked the Appalachian Trail, in hopes of obtaining a victory!"

A clip of both Mitch and Miriam appeared on the screen, side by side. "Some rose to the occasion!" Chris' voice exclaimed with flourish. Then, a clip of Luciana, Kyle, and Daryl appeared. "Some...well, had a bit of a different experience."

"In the end, it was the Yee-Haws who were on the chopping block, and it was Daryl who was sent home."

The camera returned to Chris in front of the Visitor Center, who had changed into an Army dress uniform. "What challenge awaits us this week? Who will go home? Who will fall in love?" Chris waggled his brows, flashing the camera a cocky grin.

"Find out, on the most dramatic episode yet! Of..."

The camera panned out, revealing a fence the read: 'Fort Bragg.'

_"Total! Drama! United States!"_

**(INSTRUMENTAL OF THEME SONG)**

The instrumental began with a plane landing in the United States, and Chris emerging from the plane with a huge grin on his face and waving an American flag.

**(DEAR MOM AND DAD I'M DOING FINE, YOU GUYS ARE ON MY MIND)**

The camera followed Chris through John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2x speed, until he eventually ended up outside signing autographs to rabid fans, leaving Chef to carry their bags, all while holding pamphlets about what to do in New York City. As Chef put down one of the suitcases, one of the pamphlets flew away in the breeze.

**(YOU ASK ME WHAT I WANTED TO BE, NOW I THINK THE ANSWER IS PLAIN TO SEE)**

The pamphlet drifted into a body of water in Central Park, only to be caught on a hook and reeled it. The other side of the hook was revealed to be Cohen, who huffed at his catch. The camera panned over to Bubba, who reeled in a rather large fish with a beam on his face.

**(I WANNA BE FAMOUS)**

The camera moved across Central Park to Reggie and Mira, who were throwing a football back and forth to each other. Reggie signaled for Mira to go long, launching the ball from his grip. Mira jumped for it, ultimately missing and watching it hit a cop as he rode by on a bike, sending him to the ground. He got up, immediately heading toward the two, prompting them to run away in terror. They ran across the entrance of the Metropolitan Art Museum, and when they moved inside, the camera followed.

**(I WANNA LIVE CLOSE TO THE SUN)**

Meredith and Tonia pondered over a Van Gogh self-portrait, Meredith appearing to be rambling about the history of the piece to Tonia, who flipped out her camera to begin to vlog. When they saw Reggie and Mira move by, they paused in confusion, especially when the cop followed. However, the cop stopped when he saw Tonia, removing a notepad to get her autograph.

Meredith huffed, stepping outside of the Met, just for her Met brochure to fly away, which the camera followed.

**(SO PACK YOUR BAGS BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY WON)**

The Met brochure flew towards Chinatown, stopping when it hit a window to a tea shop. Mitch, Daryl, and Ash were inside, idly looking over tea leaves. When Daryl whipped out a bowl to try and pack the tea leaves in it like they were bud, Mitch face-palmed, Ash staring in awe as Mitch took the bowl and threw it in the trash, just as it was being taken out, and loaded into a garbage truck.

**(EVERYTHING TO PROVE NOTHING IN MY WAY, I'LL GET THERE ONE DAY)**

The garbage truck eventually passed through Times Square, with Pracilla and Maisie ambling from shop to shop with bags in her hand, the camera then moving to Brianna and Hayato as they got a picture together with someone pretending to be Spiderman. Once Pracilla, Brianna, Hayato, and Maisie all got back together, they gaped at Sophie trying to put the same Spiderman into a headlock, rushing over to her, hoping to pull her off. The camera then followed a taxi as it drove by.

**('CAUSE I WANNA BE FAMOUS)**

The camera followed the taxi to New York Public Library, where Tom and AJ got out, already whipping out their notebooks in excitement. As AJ opened her notebook to begin to speak to Tom, Kaisa appeared out of nowhere, removing something from AJ's pocket and getting into the taxi they had arrived in.

**(NA NA NA...)**

The taxi moved to Broadway, and Kaisa got out, entering the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway as Alex was playing the piano, and Drew was singing lovingly to an adoring audience, to which Kaisa rolled her eyes.

**(I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS!)**

The camera moved down the block to the Neil Simon Theatre, where Bea and Miriam were on-stage, laughing as they did the macarena and turned themselves to the side.

**(I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA BE FAMOUS!)**

The camera moved Corsica exiting the stage door of the Neil Simon Theatre, appearing to have just gotten off stage prior to when Bea and Miriam started dancing. With a longing expression on his face, he peered upward to the top of the Empire State Building.

**(WHISTLES)**

The camera moved to the top of the Empire State Building, where Luciana and Kyle sat on lawn-chairs, clinking two bottles of Coke together. Suddenly, Luciana pointed to the sky, hitting Kyle on the arm to get his attention.

In the sky, a plane came by, a banner saying "_Total Drama: United States_" flying behind it.

**(EPISODE START)**

The episode began in the Yee-Haws' RV, more specifically, focused on the faces of Tonia, Bubba, Meredith, and Alex. "D-Do you think they know we're watching them?" Meredith whispered to the trio in front of her, only to be promptly shushed by Tonia, who held up a manicured finger.

"No," Tonia replied, holding her fingers up to mimic a square, as if she were filming whatever was in front of her. "But if I could vlog this moment, these two would become the next 'it' couple on Youtube."

The camera revealed Brianna and Hayato, Hayato having lifted Brianna by the waist to reach something in one of the taller kitchen cabinets. Once he had put her down, Brianna turned to Hayato, offering him a shy grin, her cheeks pink.

"It's like they're stuck in their own world. It's kinda gross." Alex confessed, narrowing his eyes and starting to idly begin to play with his sleeve. He jolted when Bubba elbowed him to the shoulders, sending him awkwardly tumbling into Sophie.

"Tonia's right! Their romance is like a donut with strawberry frosting and sprinkles- classic and sweet!" Bubba kissed his fingers for emphasis, prompting Tonia to giggle and clap her hands in agreement.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Alex huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Call me old-fashioned, call me a 'Boomer', but I don't really care for Brianna and Hayato's budding romance." He leaned forward, looking exasperatedly into the camera. "Last night, I went into the kitchen to grab a snack, and they were on the couch talking about their childhood. I felt like I was intruding, and I live in this RV, too!"

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Mira and Sophie ambled into the living room area, Mira's teeth chattering as her hair created a wet spot on her t-shirt. Meredith turned to the pair, moving over so she could join them. "Hey Mira, are you okay? You don't look to happy." She pointed out, keenly observing the tight expression on Mira's face.

Sophie chortled, rolling her eyes. "She looks like that almost every day." She jested, making Mira almost growl. Sophie raised her hands in surrender, moving to join Alex and Tonia.

"Brianna took up all the hot water this morning in the shower. She was talking last night about how she and Hayato were going to," Mira batted her eyelashes, raising her voice an octave to imitate Brianna's voice. "Watch the sunrise!" She gagged, shaking her head.

Meredith tipped her head, wetting her lips as she tried to tip-toe around Mira's temper. "Well, Brianna and Hayato are clearly into each other. This is simply build-up to the confession, the moment that comes out, there will not be nearly as much pressure to be consistently on top of her own game."

Mira bit the inside of her cheek, implicitly seething over how Meredith had nailed the hammer on the head. "Well she better tell him soon, my showers are at stake."

**(YANKEES RV)**

Inside the Yankees RV, things were seemingly moving at a factory-pace. Ash and Cohen stood beside the fridge while drinking coffee, discussing high school experiences. Cohen poured a cup of black coffee, handing it off to Reggie, who sat on the counter with Miriam and Maisie as they discussed where the RV was taking them.

Reggie peered over to Kaisa as she walked in, waving her over with the cup of coffee for her. She smirked, and as she walked by the living room, she nodded to Bea, whose legs were thrown over Drew's lap, as she was sandwiched between Drew and Corsica, as they avidly described life in New York City.

On the perimeter, leaning against a wall was Tom, who took in the scenery around him through skeptical lenses. He used his free arm to prop his notebook on, as he frantically scribbled. He thought it was odd how little time it took for people to shuffle off into their groups. Were people really this prone to wanting to be a part of groups so bad?

"I-It's weird, right?" A female voice broke his monotony, and upon further inspection, he saw that AJ had silently started to stand beside him, holding a cup of black tea. "It almost reminds me of high school...Like who am I going to sit with for lunch? Or will I just eat by myself in the same room I write the school paper?" AJ sputtered, glancing around rapidly. "Not saying I do that, but-."

Tom cut her off by raising his hand, nodding in agreement while hiding the contents of his notebook. "It is peculiar, how little time it took for people to find their group. Is that a psychological aspect of humans, our desire to try to associate ourselves with people?"

AJ pondered what Tom was saying in silence, before cracking a small smile. "I try not to put a lot of things into boxes. Sometimes it's not a psychological thing, or a backstory thing, sometimes it's just a people thing. They're the things that make us human."

This comment surprised Tom, who regarded her with wide eyes. "Yeah..." He then trailed off, enjoying the comfortable silence he was sharing with AJ, amongst the laughter and voices around him.

**(OUTSIDE OF RVs)**

The teams began to pile out of their RVs, squinting against the harsh mid-morning sun. The area itself seemed rather mundane; a simple, two lane road cut through sparse trees and vegetation, before diverging deeper into the forest. This divergence was marked simply by a sign: "Fort Bragg: Home of The Airborne and Special Operations Forces."

Mitch jumped as the RVs began to drive away, vanishing down the road. "Wait, Fort Bragg...Military..." As he began to associate words, he glanced around him desperately. "Has anyone seen Chef?!"

"Why are you freaking out so much? Are your spidey senses tingling?" Kyle quipped.

Mitch gulped, shaking his head. "No, worse. My horror senses are." He looked to his team, his face paling with fear. "Think about it. Military themed challenge, in Fort Bragg. Chef and Chris are gone. This means..."

Mitch was cut off by a high-pitched whistle, followed by the brass of a trumpet reverie. Soon, out of the sparse vegetation, Chris and Chef emerged, Chris pretending to play a trumpet while holding a Bluetooth speaker in his shirt pocket, and Chef adorned in a flat-brimmed hat, sunglasses, a green muscle tank, camo pants, and Army boots.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Master Chief is back?!" Ash shivered, curling his knees to his chest. "When I used to watch this show, I feared three people; Heather, Courtney, and Master Chief. I signed up for _Total Drama,_ not _Fear Factor_!"

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I've been to boot camp." Luciana deadpanned, reclining back as she picked idly at her cuticles. "Yeah, my school thought it would be some like, attitude reform or something, so my guidance counselor suggested it to my dad. All it taught me is that I can't take dudes seriously who yell in my face, and that I am mad good at sneaking Postmates into boot camps."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Hayato straightened his posture, looking at himself in the mirror. "Brianna, I am very happy we have reunited I also have been in love with you since we were kids. Anyways, how's the weather?" He face-planted, immediately relaxing his posture. "No, stupid. No one would take that seriously. How am I expected to have Brianna take me seriously? Not even our own team takes us seriously."

Removing a small notepad from his pocket, he set it upon the counter, starting to scribble words into it, his voice too quiet for the microphone to pick up.

As he was about to practice once more, the door opened, and Tom peeked through. "Oh, my apologies. I was just going to..." He pointed inside, hoping to get his confessional time.

Hayato sighed, starting to head out the door, leaving behind his notebook.

Tom entered, closing the door behind him. Upon sitting down, he noticed the notebook, which he picked up, and began to flip through.

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAMS)**

"Alright, you IPhone using, Tik Tok dancing, emotion masquerading, useless maggots, line up!" Chef yelled into a megaphone, the group of teenagers scrambling amongst their team to get into a straight line. Circling behind, Chef strolled idly by them, his arms tucked formally behind his back.

"This challenge will be structured by yours truly, so I am expecting the best!" He slapped Cohen atop the head at his slouched posture. "And that means, no lollygagging!" Chef then moved over and slapped Drew on the back of the head. "No talking back." Then, to Ash, who he began to slap repeatedly. "And especially no practicing your horrible stand-up comedy bits!"

Chris maniacally laughed, smiling in content. "Master Chief will be taking over today, so I hope you don't miss my beautiful face too much."

Corsica frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I hate the fact that I will."

Master Chief leered at the contestants' misfortune, cracking his knuckles. "Shall we begin?"

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

When the show returned, the two teams were divided up in front of two separate trails that divided off into the woods. "Alright! You'll be running with your team the length of a 5K. When I was in war, I had to run the length of a marathon to escape the enemy. I fought tigers, hunger, and most of all, myself. But here I am."

The contestants' gaped at him with an amalgamation of amazement, annoyance, and confusion, as Chef produced two pieces of paper, giving one to Luciana, and one to Kaisa. "These are your maps of your trails, the first team to return gets an advantage in the obstacle course. Get on your mark!"

Luciana observed the map quixotically, her nose scrunching up. "Man, this trail is super hilly. Is yours like this?" She asked Kaisa, holding up the two maps to compare them. The Yee-Haw's paper was blank and white, with no light blue guidelines, while the Yankees' was yellow, as it ripped from a production assistant's clipboard and drawn haphazardly last minute.

Kaisa cast a quick glance to the opposing teams' map, shaking her head while pouting her lower lip. "Nah, ours is pretty straightforward, so let the best team win, right?" She held her fist out to Luciana, and the two collided knuckles in a fist-bump.

Once all the teams were lined up, Chef raised the whistle to his lips. "Ready, set, GO!" He then blew the whistle, and the teams soon took off.

At his newfound loneliness, Chef grinned pleasantly, removing his phone from his pocket. "Time to catch up on Chopped."

**(YANKEES)**

Despite the varying physical statures on the Yankees, they remained at a very consistent pace, set expertly by Reggie, who led the pack. "Alright team, we just have to be confident, and we'll get this done!" He encouraged.

"Running is one of my least favorite things to do." Cohen complained near the back, his arms swinging loosely by his side.

"Everything is your least favorite thing to do, Cohen." Miriam pointed out, to which Cohen nodding, murmuring the words "Fair point" beneath his breath.

The camera panned over to Bea and Drew, who jogged alongside Corsica. "I don't understand running. It just reminds me of how bad I am with cardio." Bea teased, earning a bright grin from Drew.

"Well, not all of us have to be good at everything, it means our strengths fall in other areas!" Corsica contended with a sickly-sweet tone, speeding up his pace so he was at the head of them.

Drew waited until he was out of earshot, and then looked down at Bea. "Don't listen to him. You're the type of person I would let humble brag around me because you would just smile, and I would feel like you deserve all good fortunes." He ruffled her hair, soon speeding up to catch up with Corsica, prompting Bea to then catch up.

The camera then panned ahead once more, specifically to Kaisa and Maisie. "That's weird, right?" Kaisa spoke out of nowhere, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "That we got such a flat trail, and the Yee-Haws got the super challenging one? Even the two papers were different."

"Girl, just take the fortunes that we got. Maybe it's a punishment for losing the last challenge. Don't think so deeply." Maisie countered, canvassing their surroundings. The trail, at least from her point of view, seemed flat with a few twists and turns signature of a trail that ended where it began.

Kaisa silenced herself, figuring that maybe she was over-analyzing the situation.

But she remained skeptical.

**(YEE-HAWS)**

"Running...How dare you betray me!" Bubba collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball. "Go without me, brave soldiers, for I am a weakness!" He yelled with melodrama, going so far as closing his eyes.

"Bubba, dude," Alex pointed at the rest of the hill they were climbing. "You just took your first step onto this hill." He rasped, glancing behind Bubba and realizing they had traversed several hills prior.

"So, Brianna," Tonia climbed the hill ahead beside the girl, a hand reaching out to touch the adjacent shoulder. "Spill the tea. Tell me what is going on between you and Hayato."

Brianna's eyes widened, her face turning red at the insinuation of something going on. "W-What? You've noticed?"

Tonia chortled, flipping her hair. "Girl, if I could, I would start a ship name for you two. Hayanna? Briyato?" She paused, letting Luciana pass them. "So, spill!"

"O-Okay! Okay." Brianna smiled in false exasperation. "There's always been something unrequited there. Now that we are seeing each other again, after years of being apart, it's all coming back, and more feelings are coming...I think I really like him." She confessed, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"EEEK!" Tonia squealed, clapping her hands together. "That's so cute! He must tell you! He should like, write a song, or make a super good PowerPoint presentation!"

Brianna's eyes widened in horror at the idea. "G-Goodness no, I do not like surprises or huge gestures. They make me feel nervous."

The camera then panned over to Sophie, who yelled in excitement. "Guys, we're close to the end! I can see it!"

**(END)**

The Yee-Haws ran up, each of them out of breath and in various stages of dehydration, while the Yankees appeared relaxed, having been there for several minutes. Chef stood before them, holding his megaphone.

"What was that, Yee-Haws? You're nearly 10 minutes behind the Yankees! I gave you a similar trail!" Chef barked, approaching the group with long strides. This statement was met by Mira's bewildered stare. "What? You sent us over every hill possible!"

Chef scowled, falling silent as he soon ambled away. "Anyway, the Yankees win the advantage. Meet me at 1230 hours east bound at the obstacle course! Get some water, you pond scum. With that, he marched off.

The silence hung in the air, until Cohen broke it by asking: "Does anyone know military time? Or have directional abilities?"

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

"This obstacle course will test every part of your body in a physical way. Not only that, but you'll need mental endurance to get through it. Every team member will traverse this course, the last one to stand wins for their team. Get ready!" Chef demanded, standing in front of a labyrinth looking obstacle course, lined with pull-up bars, and even a climbing rope.

The two teams stood in proximity of each other, Tom's head tilting as he listened to Tonia speak to Brianna.

"So, you never had like, a surprise party or anything like that?" Tonia asked, seemingly continuing their conversation from the trail.

"N-No! I always told my friends against that. They make me way too nervous." Brianna justified, moving to stand over by Hayato, who smiled at her arrival.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Mitch rolled his eyes, covered from head to toe with mud. "I love these physicality-based challenges. They really bring out the best in me."

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Kaisa slammed her hands down on the table, a wicked grin on her face. "I love these physicality-based challenges! They really bring out the best in me."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Cohen fell facedown into the mud, sprawling his arms out as other people moved past him, the camera moving back to reveal a large climbing wall, where the contestants were forced to swing their legs over and drop down to get to the next part of the course.

"Come on, Bubba! You just have to lift your weight up and get to the top, then it's an easy drop!" Meredith encouraged from the top, waving her hand down to her teammate.

Bubba huffed, clearly exasperated as he grasped the first rung, trying to hoist himself to the next rung. "There's no way. God made me thick with Two C's for a reason, and this isn't it."

Chef's whistle blew, signaling that both Cohen and Bubba were out of the game, leaving both teams down one player.

The next stage was the rope swing, with a deeper pit of mud below it. The contestants were forced to climb a shaky ladder to the top platform, grab the rope, and swing to the next platform without falling into the mud.

"CRAP!" Mitch's voice exclaimed, his body dropping from the rope and splashing into the watery mud below.

The camera panned over, showing Miriam and Reggie on the other side, as well as Ash. Reggie extended a long arm, grabbing the swinging rope. "Sorry about that fall, dude!" Reggie called down to Mitch, just as he got out of the mud pit.

"It's about equilibrium, we just have to make sure our weight is evenly distributed and swing ourselves to the other side." Miriam logically explained, taking the rope from Reggie. Wrapping her hands sturdily just above her head, she nodded her head to her two teammates. "See you on the other side, soldiers!"

With that, she launched herself off the platform, releasing the rope to glide onto the other platform, still holding onto it. "Alright! Here you guys go!" She let go of the rope, prompting Ash to catch it.

Ash caught the rope with his hands, saluting Reggie as he then jumped off, letting out a loud scream as his body swung to the other side. "Wait! No, no, no!" He removed his hands just as the rope began to swing back toward the start, making him fall into the mud pit.

Reggie cringed, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I heard mud baths could be relaxing."

Chef's whistle blew again, signaling Mitch and Ash both out of the game. The sound sputtered when he looked past the rope swing to the log hurdles.

Bea and Drew surrounded Corsica, who gripped his ankle in pain. "Damn it! I thought I had this." He gestured wildly to Bea, his eyes narrowing. "You're like two feet tall, how did you get over the hurdles?!"

Bea's eyes widened, her arms and legs covered in mud. "Drew helped me over! We offered you help, but you refused it."

Drew chuckled, folding his arms over his chest as Luciana and Kyle passed them. "Yeah, you were going all Corsica Mode, where you get into one of your characters and have some of weird, convoluted physical reaction."

Chef's whistle blew, signaling a seething Corsica out of the game.

The camera panned back to the rope swing as a screaming AJ tried swinging her way across, only to end up stuck in the middle. "Oh, fiddlesticks..."

Whistle blow for AJ.

The camera panned hastily back to the hurdles as Meredith ran forward with confidence, unable to trapeze past the tallest hurdle, her chest slamming into the top as her body flew back into the mud.

Whistle blow for Meredith.

Moving forward again, the camera showed contestants crawling beneath swinging axes through the mud, Tonia frozen in the middle as she gripped her hair. "There's no way I'm getting a haircut today!"

Beside her, Tom began to slide past her on his elbows, only to have his arms begin to sink in the mud. With a grunt, he tried to pull his body out, only to sink further into the mud. "May I please have some assistance before I die from this?"

Whistle blows for Tom and Tonia.

The camera panned back to the rope swing, only to show Brianna tangled upside down on it, tied up in it by her leg. Her hair fanned out below her, as she gagged, seemingly about to get sick from hanging upside down for so long.

Whistle blow for Brianna.

The camera moved forward, to what looked like a child's spinning amusement park ride, the ones that requires the rider to stand. "Wait, what kind of wack-ass obstacle course has a kiddie ride?" Kaisa grumbled, just as Chef walked up.

He blew his whistle, pointing to Kaisa. "Are you questioning my methods?! You are out!" He cried, making Kaisa huff and amble off.

Bea stood back, holding her stomach defensively. "D..Do you think we could be sick on this thing?" She shakily asked Drew, which was caught by Sophie as she walked past, about to enter the ride.

"What's wrong with a little," Sophie pretended to gag, going so far as even rolling her eyes. "A little," She did so again. "Puke!" She cackled, making Bea's face pale.

"I can't do this. I have a fear of..." Bea lurched, her hand gripping her mouth.

Drew watched her run off, knowing that his team was down for the count. "This is the worst day of my life." He muttered as he joined Sophie, Maisie, Miriam, and Reggie on the ride. The remainder of the Yee-Haws: Kyle, Alex, Hayoto, Luciana, and Mira were already on board.

"I hope y'all like getting dizzy! This is gonna be wild. Think y'all can handle it?" Mira taunted as she held onto the sidebars beside her.

Drew scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. "If I can listen to you speak without feeling sick, I can handle this."

That insult alone made Alex laugh out loud, only to be silenced by Mira's sharp glare.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Alex sat quietly, before emitting a restricted chortle, which then metastasized into full-blown laughter. "Did you hear that?! God, Mira is going to need some ice for that burn!" He stopped his laughter, still emitting short chuckles as he wiped his eyes. "I get that she's my teammate, but God can she be annoying."

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

A loud buzzer sound rang from the ride, signaling that it was about to start spinning. Luciana reached out to Kyle, giving him a fist-bump. "Whoever hurls first owes the other one a Twinkie." She bet, making Kyle's lips curled upward as he reciprocated the action. "You're on, dork."

Maisie swallowed anxiously, her palms sliding against the sidebars as they began to feel clammy. "How can they be so nonchalant about this?"

Reggie regarded the other team on the opposite site of the ride, just as it began to teeter to the right. "They like this, that's how."

As if that was the cue, the ride began to rapidly spin, Miriam's eyes sliding tightly shut as her hair whipped around her. "I shouldn't have eaten lunch!"

The ride continued to spin, often pausing for brief moments of levity, before teetering to the right and beginning in the opposite direction and tilting in different directions so the blood in the body could be dispersed awkwardly to the head.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Miriam rocked back and forth, her eyes wide and unblinking. "Still...spinning..." She rasped, curling her knees to her chest.

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

Chef stood outside of the ride with Chris and the eliminated contestants, who watched in horror as the screams and maniacal laughs echoed from inside the metal death chamber that was the spinning ride.

"Now I'm grateful that I just fell into a mud pit." Mitch mused, ruffling the back of his head uncomfortably.

The ride soon came to an eventual stop with a resounding creek, the doors sliding open. The first person to bound out was Mira, who bounced excitedly over the prospect of something happening next.

Reggie assisted Miriam out, the pair stumbling down the three steps that elevated the infrastructure from the grass. "Yeah, we're done. I think Miriam is going need her stomach pumped or something. As for me, I need a doggie bag." Reggie alerted Chef, helping the female down to the even ground.

Maisie was next, her face pale, and her forehead bearing a glow from sweat. "I don't care if there is any more to this, I am done." She finalized.

A gleeful cheer emitted from the entrance as Hayato, Sophie, Alex, Luciana, and Kyle came out, stumbling from side to side, but appearing pleased from the ride due to the lax grins on their faces.

"That was fun, when are we doing it again?" Hayato clapped his hands together eagerly, rubbing them together, much to Miriam's horror. "You monster..." She whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

AJ grasped Bea's arm eagerly, waiting for Drew to emerge from the ride. "If Drew goes on, we can continue. If he doesn't, we lose this part of the challenge!"

Bea regarded AJ, staring in anticipation at the small entrance to the ride as the crowd around her grew silent.

Slowly, Drew emerged from the ride, gripping the sides of the door for support as he ducked his tall frame out of the metal box. He surveyed his team through blurry eyes, then the other team, until finally he raised his first.

The Yankees roared in joy, clapping their hands for their one surviving member. "Heck yeah, Drew! You're the man!" Reggie encouraged, still holding onto Miriam.

"T-Thank you...You all.." Drew tottered to right, walking down the stairs. "I'm just so...Happy.." He trailed off, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he fell to the left, collapsing into the grass.

Chef cringed, blowing his whistle to signal the end of this part of the challenge. "With that, the Yee-Haws win the second part of the challenge! They will get an advantage in the final part of the challenge, which will occur at 0500 hours in the mess hall. Now get showered, maggots!"

Observing the state of some of the contestants, Chef rolled his eyes. "And get some of these kids to the infirmary"

**(THE INFIRMARY)**

A guttural groan sounded from Drew as he arose from his cot, rubbing his head. "What happened?" She grumbled, gripping the bridge of his nose between his eyebrows and squeezing his eyes shut.

"You're in the infirmary. You passed out at the end of the challenge." Corsica informed Drew between icing his ankle. "I was just about to head out to take a shower, you were out for around an hour."

Drew nodded his head wordlessly, rising to his feet and ambling out ahead of Corsica, squinting in the afternoon sunlight. Being out for so long really did make the world seem way too bright for his personal comfort.

"Drew, I was just looking for you." A voice to Drew's left, toward the showers sounded. Drew furrowed his brows quixotically as he saw Tom approach, a small notebook in hand. "I have orders from Chef to help Corsica to the mess hall, so I was just wondering if you could take this back to Hayato? It's his notebook."

Tom held the notebook out to Drew, who took it with his right hand. With his left, Drew pointed to him. "Isn't that the dude on the Yee-Haws who is super whipped for that blonde chick? You know the one with the..." Drew retracted his hands to his chest, mimicking the way large breasts appear on women by shaping them with his hands.

Tom cleared his throat, not wanting to put Brianna in that label. "Yes, her name is Brianna. I do think it would be beneficial if they simply got their feelings out of the way. I couldn't imagine holding something like that inside for so long." He sighed longingly, shrugging his shoulders. "But what do I know? I'll see you soon."

Tom vanished into the infirmary, leaving both a very dizzy, yet very motivated Drew to scheme.

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

Just before the start of the next challenge, the contestants ate what appeared to be pasta in the mess hall of Fort Bragg. The two teams sat at two separate tables, diverted by a podium that rested atop of a stage-looking median, with two chairs behind it.

Drew ambled into the mess hall, peering at the heads of the Yee-Haws until he spotted Hayato, who sat beside Brianna. "Hayato! Pst, come here!" He gestured wildly, much to Hayato's confusion.

"W-What does he want?" Brianna asked, twisting some pasta around her fork. Hayato shrugged, patting her shoulder with a soft grin as he walked over to Drew, his smile falling the moment Brianna was out of his site.

"What do you want?" He grumbled, folding his arms over her chest. Drew chuckled, holding Hayato's notebook out to him. "You can drop the macho act, I'm just here to give this back to you."

Hayato's face fell, blinking in surprise as he took the notebook. "Oh, thank you. I must have left it in the confessional earlier today."

Drew rocked back and forth, drawing his head closer to the male. "Listen dude, I see the way you interact with Blondie. From one beautiful man to another, I say you lock it down. You gotta go big, or you gotta go home. Chicks dig huge gestures."

Hayato glanced behind him unsurely, looking to Brianna as she laughed alongside Tonia and Meredith. "Do you think so?"

Clapping his hand on his shoulder, Drew flashed Hayato a wink. "My man, I know so." With that, Drew departed from Hayato, joining his team just as Corsica and Tom walked in.

Suddenly, the lights darkened, a single spotlight radiating onto the podium as Chef emerged from somewhere behind it, tapping the microphone. The feedback echoed, signaling Chef to begin speaking. "War is not just physical, it is mental. That is why..."

The lights suddenly turned colorful as cheerful music sounded from speakers placed across the mess hall. "You're going to be doing a roast! The first person to make me laugh or piss off the other team enough that physical violence ensues, wins!"

Meredith peered upward at the lights, scrunching her nose in confusion. "Do you think Fort Bragg just has party lights laying around, or did the production team have to install them?"

"Alright campers!" Chris entered, wearing a tuxedo and holding two white shawls, both inscribed with the word "Master of Comedy" in purple Comic Sans. "You're going to choose two representatives from your team to go on-stage together in a roast battle!"

Cohen and Reggie looked at each other nervously, before looking back to the stage.

"You have a minute to choose your representative, so get choosing!" Chris continued, before taking a seat in one of the two chairs behind the podium, with Chef joining him in the empty one.

On the Yee-Haws' side, Bubba quickly pointed to Kyle and Luciana. "It has to be one of these two. A roast is about the fine-art of being subtle and," he nervously moved his fingers to Sophie and Mira. "I think they'll get mad easily."

Sophie and Mira opened their mouths to protest, their eyes narrowed, and their fists clenched, when Mitch stepped in. "Being pragmatic, Mira and Sophie will get pissed off. I can see the Yankees picking Drew or Corsica, so it has to be Kyle or Luciana."

Luciana shook her head, reclining her feet on the table. "Count me out, it takes me time to think of a good comeback. Kyle should do it."

Kyle smirked, standing up and bounding to the stage. "I won't let you guys down!"

Seeing that Kyle had been chosen, Corsica huffed, resting his elbow on his table and placing his chin in his hand. "Well, that was totally expected of them."

AJ drummed her fingernails against the table, before snapping her fingers. "We have to do something unexpected. If we throw them off with our choice, we'll have a leg up." Knowing that she was going to be met with controversy, she pointed to her choice.

"It has to be him."

**(COMMERCIAL BREAK)**

Music played once more, party lights bouncing off every corner of the room. Chris stood at the podium, a large grin on his face. "Welcome to the Total Drama roast! Today, we have two contestants that need no introduction, but I am going to do so anyway!" He gestured to the Yee-Haws. "For the Yee-Haws, we have the baseball bro, the second part of the bromance with Luciana, Kyle!"

Kyle ambled to the stage, waving to the audience which consisted just of the two teams. He took his place on one side of the podium, looking to the Yankees.

"For the Yankees, he's a short king, he went on a field trip with a middle school, and Chef thinks his comedy is terrible, so why is he here? It's Ash!"

The Yankees cheered as Ash pushed his glasses up his nose, standing on the other side of the podium, smiling to Chris.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"I was surprised when AJ said I should represent our team. It took some convincing on her part to get me up there," Ash clenched his fist in placid determination. "So, I can't let her down!"

**(END OF CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"Since the Yee-Haws won, they can go first. They get to set the pace, and ultimately decide who wins and who doesn't win. So Kyle," Chris took a step back, sitting in his chair. "The mic is yours."

Kyle adjusted a fake tie, leaning against the podium by both of his forearms. "Alright, I'll be honest. The Yankees never cease to amaze me. Like let's take Tom for example. That guy radiates the energy of being a pompous British man hell-bent on control, but joke's on me, he's not even British."

Tom narrowed his eyes, laughter ringing out around him, but not from Chris or Chef. However, they were smiling.

"But hey! Hey! There's also so good on the Yankees, like let's take AJ and Bea. They're so cute and small, and you could probably throw them around." Kyle smirked, pointing to Drew. "Just like Drew's doing to Bea's heart, am I right?"

Bea's eyes widened, her face flushing as Drew regarded her with confusion. "What does that mean?"

"I-It's just a roast, he's making jokes out of all of our expense." Bea justified in a harsh whisper, patting Drew's arm

"Who am I to talk about the Yankees without talking about the lazy one? And I don't mean Cohen." Kyle tipped his head to Corsica, smiling sweetly. "If Corsica is trying to make himself to be memorable by putting on all these characters, maybe he's just hiding how forgettable he really is?"

Corsica seethed, prompting Maisie to put a hand on his shoulder. "Control." She scolded, folding her hands on his lap.

"So, I don't want to get to ahead of myself. 'll let Ash take over. He'll need step stool, though." Kyle took a step back, regarding Ash kindly. "Good luck, dude."

Ash took his place at the podium, squinting at the harsh spotlight pointed at him. He exhaled into the mic, which squeaked in feedback at the slight noise. "O-Oh.." He stuttered, looking behind him to see Chef shaking his head.

Rubbing his clammy hands on his pants, Ash plucked the microphone from the podium, holding it in his hands. "On the first day, Bubba told me that he was afraid of giraffes. But I'm more scared of the fact that people are going to be calling him 'Bubba' into adulthood."

Ash took a step back, clearing his throat to deepen his voice. "Welcome to the firm, Mr. Kingston. Is there a name you prefer to go by?" He pretended to ask Bubba, imitating a large-scale CEO.

Switching sides, Ash suddenly changed his stance, mimicking the way Bubba stood. "Well, my friends call me Bubba." Even his tone of voice sounded scarily like Bubba's.

Ash looked out to the audience; his brows furrowed. "The name Bubba belongs to one thing only; an overweight bulldog with cardiac issues."

This roast made the Yankees regard him with surprise, their faces breaking into grins as they laughed. Even on the Yee-Haws' side, Bubba and Luciana were laughing.

"Okay, I don't want to give Bubba too much flack, though. He's a nice dude. Oh!" Ash snapped his fingers. "Guess who I am?"

Ash pretended to flip a long braid, holding his hand out in front of him as if a phone was in his hand. "Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for watching my videos," His voice raised an octave, clearly imitating Tonia's voice. "If you want to use your parent's credit card to like, give me money, then I'll be like, so happy! EEK!"

This made Tonia crack a smile and laugh, shaking her head in disbelief that Ash was doing a good job.

"You know what's bad, Kyle?" Ash asked his partner, Kyle blinking in surprise that he was being dragged into the scene. Kyle shook his head, mildly curious as to where the punchline was going.

"It's so bad that you and Luciana, as a gay man and a gay woman, have a more believable romantic arc than Brianna and Hayato!" Ash finished with flourish, causing the whole room to erupt in laughter, except for Hayato.

"Now wait!" Hayato sounded, moving to the stage and taking the microphone from Ash, who stood back incredulously. "That's where you're wrong, alright?"

"Oh no..." Cohen murmured, slinking into the seat. "I can tell this is going to be cringe, bro."

Hayato paused, looking at Brianna longingly. "I know Brianna and I have been all over each other, but it's because we have a history. If any of you were reunited with someone like Brianna, you would feel the same way that I do."

Brianna's face reddened, her face falling as she looked up at Hayato, shocked that he was able to find her eyes in the darkness.

"Brianna, I have felt, SO strongly about you. I've known that for such a long time now, and now that I have you here with me again, I'm not going to let the chance slide by me again. I...I love you. I've loved you since we were kids, and when you left, I never stopped loving you."

Brianna's eyes filled with tears as her shoulders trembled, shaking her head. "C-Can you please...stop?" She squeaked, wiping her face as she walked off, only to be followed by Tonia.

Hayato watched her go, his mouth open, frozen in place by the words locked in his mouth. He had so much more to say. How could he mess this up?

"Uh, that technically was a team member getting pissed off, so the Yankees win!" Chef announced, though no one cheered.

However, in the darkness, Tom smiled.

**(YEE-HAWS RV)**

Hayato stood outside of the confessional, waiting for Brianna to come out. When the door cracked, his face brightened, only for him to see Tonia. "Is she okay?"

Tonia rolled her eyes, pursing her lips at him. "Like, no! She hates big gestures, and you made her feel embarrassed"

Hayato's brows scrunched together, as he remembered what Drew said to him. God, was he really so desperate that he took advice from a guy like that?

"Just give her some time. Let her have a few minutes, and then talk to her." Tonia advised, touching his shoulder. "Apologize first."

Tonia walked into the living room, where the Yee-Haws beside Bubba, Hayato and Brianna had gathered. Hayato followed along with Tonia, but kept himself tucked out of the hallway, unseen by the others.

"What Hayato did was uncalled for, he lost the challenge for us." Sophie reasoned, painting her nails a dark red color.

Mira chimed in soon after, having been perched on the back of the sofa. "I told y'all, Hayato and Brianna's garbage would bring us down. Now, Hayato done goofed, and he brought us down again."

Hayato's head fell, his eyes regarding the floorboards below him. How was it that he had been in the kitchen that morning, chopping an apple with Brianna, and watching the sunrise with her? How had everything gone so wrong?

The door to the confessional opened, and Brianna's small frame emerged from the crack, her eyes puffy, and her nose squeaking as she sniffled. She looked to Hayato, taking a deep breath before walking up to him.

"I-I don't get why you had to do that." Brianna fumbled with her sleeve, looking up as Hayato opened his mouth to speak. "Let me talk." She reprimanded him, with a sharpness to her voice that she didn't even know.

"Y-You had no right to try to dictate my feelings. I felt so pressured, and I felt every pair of eyes on me, even the camera crew! I have felt the same way for so long, but I wanted to tell you in m-my time, under conditions I f-felt comfortable with! You know me, Hayato, why would I ever be comfortable with a huge gesture like that?" Brianna cross-examined, her eyes slowly narrowing as she felt the anger grow within her.

Hayato wordlessly shrugged, bowing his head in embarrassment "I don't know, and I am sorry. I'm so ashamed of myself for being selfish."

Brianna bit her lower lip, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I just need some time to feel okay again, alright?" She stepped back, heading further back into the RV toward the sleeping area, where Bubba was also taking a nap. Hayato moved into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Meanwhile, in the living room part of the RV, Alex spoke up. "I don't mean to be that person, but I don't think we should send Hayato home. Sure, what he did was super embarrassing but he's a physical asset...But Bubba isn't."

Meredith soon responded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I agree, if the challenges are going to get more physical, then we need to send Bubba home. He's a nice guy, but not a physical competitor. We can encourage Brianna and Hayato to solve this drama on their own time, but I feel more confident of them performing in challenges than Bubba."

A few contestants exchanged glances in deafening silence, before Mitch spoke up. "Bubba's great, but they're right. So, is everyone in?"

Just as Hayato walked out of the bathroom, he wiped his eyes, the backs of his hands wet. "So, he's going home. Easy peasy." Luciana's voice sounded from the living room, making Hayato's posture slouch once more.

Maybe he did deserve to go home, after all.

**(ELIMINATION)**

The Yee-Haws sat on the roof of the RV, the fire illuminating the North Carolina night sky. An air of tension hung in the air, as for the first time, Brianna and Hayato sat on different sides of the group.

"If you don't receive a marshmallow, you will not be allowed to come back, ever!" Chris echoed, opening his mouth to announce the names of the marshmallow recipients, when Hayato stood up.

"Chris," Hayato began, each head slowly turning toward him. "I would like to eliminate myself from the game."

Luciana's eyes widened, her hand gripping Kyle's arm, while Mira gaped in surprise. "Oh s****…" She whispered, the censor bleeping her curse.

Chris examined the disheveled man before him, clearly at a loss as to why he would want to remove himself from the competition. "Are you sure, dude? Just stick around for the ceremony..."

Hayato cut him off, walking toward the fire. "I'm sure, I've made a fool of my team, myself, and Brianna today. I don't believe I should continue." Looking to Brianna, Hayato bowed to her. "Brianna, my feelings are still true, but I am too ashamed of myself to continue." He then winked. "Win for me."

Brianna rose to her feet, walking up to the male and wrapping her arms around him. "I will. I know you are doing this for you, so I'll win for you, too!"

Chris dabbed his eyes with a tissue, and Sophie regarded the situation with a look of disgust. "Ugh, please get them out of my site."

**(YANKEES' RV)**

On the RV, the team was minding their own business for the most part, huddled off into their groups, except for Tom, who wrote something in his notebook, which was rested on the kitchen counter.

As Kaisa entered the kitchen, she reached above Tom's head, grabbing a glass for water, when her eyes downcast toward the notebook. "Hey, that looks like the type of paper that the Yee-Haws' had their map on." She observed.

Tom smiled courteously, closing his notebook.

**(CONFESSIONAL CAM)**

"It wasn't hard, you know." Tom opened his notebook. "Right after the Appalachian Trail challenge, at that rest stop, I overheard Chris and Chef talk to a production assistant about the maps. So, this morning, I drew out a copy of my own map and snuck off just as we got into Fort Bragg, switching out the two. Chef would have been too prideful to point out a difference, so he went with it."

Suddenly, a smirk spread along Tom's face. "That was my only intention; to make their journey more difficult. When I found Hayato's notebook, everything else fell into place."

Suddenly, the scenes fell into place.

Tom finding Hayato's notebook and reading it to find that he had written out his crush for Brianna. Tom overhearing that Brianna didn't like surprises. Tom giving the notebook to Drew to give to Hayato, as he knew Drew was one for lavish gestures.

"I simply planted the seeds. The chaos grew on its own. I wonder what I can do next." Tom chuckled darkly, before the screen faded to black.

_**well... hi! this was unexpected, even for me. BUT i haven't abandoned this. so, here's a long chapter.**_

_**I hope you guys enjoyed some drama 😊**_

_**tell me what you think below! a hint for the next chapter, it's pretty "magic!"**_


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